His statistics are solid: 10 goals, 12 championship assists (English D2). Solomon, loaned by Tottenham to Leeds United, has everything interesting to strengthen a Marseille offensive sector still uncertain. But behind the sports track, another reality is invited. The rumor of his arrival at OM was enough to overflow social networks. In question? His Israeli nationality and the current geopolitical context.
On X (ex Twitter), some groups of supporters have publicly called to block this transfer. The arguments range from simple political opposition to clearly hateful, sometimes condemnable messages. Marseille, a city with strong Arab and Muslim sensitivities, has always been close to the Palestinian cause. And the arrival of an Israeli international revives a fracture between sporting principles and social realities.
Solomon at the heart of an explosive taboo in Marseille.
Pablo Longoria and Mehdi Benatia are today facing a dilemma. Give in to popular pressure, or stick to the only sporting criterion? Especially since in the locker room, the presence of players like Amine Gouiri or Ismaël Bennacer, very attached to their faith, could also ask the question of cohabitation. Nothing says that it would be impossible, but distrust is there.
The player who already shakes Marseille… without having signed
This is not the first time that football has paid the costs of geopolitics. PSG had already given up a Ukrainian player for fear of tensions with a Russian of the workforce. And internationally, Russia is still excluded. It is therefore not an isolated case, but a disturbing trend.
Whether Solomon signs or not, this dossier deserves mature reflection. It is neither a question of legitimizing hatred nor of sweeping the social realities of a back of hand. But to recall that above all, it is the athletes who find themselves trapped in debates that exceed them. And that the ball, this time, is in the camp of Marseille leaders.
