A photograph purportedly showing players of Inter Milan, a football club based in Italy, greeting a child holding a Palestinian flag has gone viral on social media platforms, with users claiming that the team has extended their support to the Middle Eastern country.
Multiple X and Facebook users shared the alleged photo claiming to show Inter Milan “expressing solidarity with Palestine before their game.” Newschecker, however, found the same to be untrue.
Such posts can be seen here, here and here.
Fact Check/Verification
A keyword search for “Inter Milan” and “Palestine” on Google did not yield any recent reports/ releases stating that the football club has extended support to the Middle Eastern country.
We then looked up the viral photo on Google Lens which led us to stock image depositary Getty Images. It featured a wider version of the viral image which also featured another boy holding an Israeli flag. “Israeli and Palestinian children of Inter Camp give players a high five of FC Inter Milan before the Serie A match between FC Inter Milan and SSC Napoli at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 23, 2009 in Milan, Italy,” the image was captioned.
Other images from the event, seen here and here, showed Brazilian and Chinese children of Inter Camp greeting the players before the match.
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Notably, Inter Campus is a global organisation which gives “ ‘Right To Play’ to thousands of needy children, using the values of sport and the game of football as an educational tool.”
The highlights from the 2009 match, shared on the official channel of Inter Milan in January 2023, also featured visuals of children wielding flags of their countries greeting the players on the field.
Another article published on Rediff website in May 2015 also carried the full version of the viral image. A comparison between the two can be seen below.
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Conclusion
Hence, an old photo has been misleadingly cropped to show Inter Milan expressing solidarity with Palestine before a match.
Sources
Getty Images Website
YouTube Video By Inter, Dated January 1, 2023
