Video does not show Irish football fans waving Palestinian flags

A video shared on multiple Facebook pages, as well as on X (formerly Twitter), claims to show a crowd at a football match in Ireland showing “support for Palestine”. 

This is not true. The video was taken at a football match between Moroccan teams Raja Club Athletic (also known as Raja Casablanca) and Moghreb Atlético Tetuán (also known as Moghreb Tetouan or MAT). 

It’s likely this video was taken during their most recent fixture on 8 October 2023, which took place at Raja Club Athetlic’s stadium Stade Mohammed V. A screen in the stadium, visible in the footage, appears to show ‘RCA vs MAT’, with RCA appearing first, suggesting they are the home team, and features the logos of both teams.  

The match had been underway for 10 minutes when the video was created, and a clock to the left of the screen shows the time at recording was twenty to nine; given the fact it’s night, we can assume this is 8:40pm. On 8 October, the match between Raja Casablanca and MAT kicked off at 8:30pm, so the timings align.

The video shows those present at a football match waving flags, including multiple Palestine flags and singing what appears to be ‘Rajawi Filistini’, a pro-Palestine song often sung by Raja Casablanca fans. 

In a clip of the TV coverage of what appears to be the same match, the song also can be heard being sung. 

This did not occur in Ireland, as those posting on Facebook and X have claimed. 

We often see misleading images and videos on social media in the wake of significant global events. Following recent violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip we have fact checked a number of posts, including a video claiming to show Israeli helicopters being shot down which is actually footage from a video game, a video of a “new air assault” which actually occurred in 2021 and debunked a fake Instagram post from a football manager. For advice on how to verify content before you share it, read our guide. 

Image courtesy of mustapha_ennaimi