The Saudi Pro League drew unwanted attention on Saturday after Al Hilal fans unveiled a tifo featuring Stephen Curry during their match against fierce rivals Al-Ittihad. The display was not well received by many, as it highlighted Curry, who is known for his ties with Israel.
An X (formerly Twitter) user, Itti Sky, spoke out about the controversial tifo following its display at Kingdom Arena.
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“Disparity #AlIttihad was banned from making a tifo for Fahd Al-Muwallad, may God protect him.” Itti Sky captioned the post. “Al-Ittihad was banned from a tifo for the symbol Talal bin Mansour.”
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“Al-Hilal was allowed to use characters despite the chosen character (Stephen Curry) being a Zionist and facing a fierce media campaign due to his recent stances.”
The user condemned Al Hilal fans for being allowed to display Curry’s tifo, citing Curry’s reported investments in Israeli military technology as public knowledge.
Itti Sky also questioned the apparent double standards, noting that Al-Ittihad supporters were not permitted to do the same for their former player, Fahad Al-Muwallad.
Another handle reiterated this point, pointing to Curry’s links with Israel.
“Saudi do they not know what are the investments of curry?” the handle wrote.
The tifo displayed Curry taking a shot over a defender in celebration of the NBA star. However, amid ongoing tensions involving Israel and parts of the Middle East, many were displeased by the display, as Curry has reportedly invested in two Israeli cybersecurity startups, Zafran Security and UpWind Security.
Steph Curry reportedly invested in Israeli startups linked to the IDF
Stephen Curry is mostly known for his work on the basketball court and is hardly dragged into controversies off it. However, in January, the Warriors star was thrust into the spotlight, and not for good reasons, after it was reported he had invested in Israeli startups linked to the Israeli defense forces.
The news first surfaced after Nate Bear published a piece on the news website DoNotPanic.com.
“American basketball star Stephen Curry is investing in tech startups run by former IDF operatives who were integral to building Israel’s digital architecture of apartheid and genocide,” Bear wrote.
“Curry has made these investments alongside Israeli venture capital firms which are also deeply embedded in Israel’s intelligence establishment.”
Although the report highlights Curry’s investment in Israeli military tech startups, the NBA star has yet to confirm or deny his involvement in these projects.
Edited by Arian Kashyap
