Football: Fortuna Düsseldorf abandons plans to sign Israeli player criticized for his comments on the Gaza war
The German football club has abandoned the transfer of Shon Weissman, who had called on social media to "drop 200 bombs" on Gaza.
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"We have finally decided not to sign him." This is the message posted on Tuesday, August 5, by the Fortuna Düsseldorf football club on the social network X regarding Israeli international Shon Weissman. The German second division club stated that it had "extensively investigated" the player before making this decision. Fortuna did not provide further details, but many Internet users in the comments made the connection with comments made by the player in support of the war in Gaza.
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If you have an intensive session with Shon Weissman, you will be able to use it a bit later. #f95 | 🔴⚪
On Monday, the German tabloid Bild However, it was announced that an agreement had been reached between Fortuna Düsseldorf and the Spanish club Granada FC, where Shon Weissman plays. The 29-year-old Israeli player was to replace Vincent Vermeij, a 30-year-old Dutch striker, who had transferred to Dresden. Bild estimated the value of Shon Weissman's transfer to Düsseldorf at " probably around 500,000 euros . "
But this news sparked anger among the club's fans. According to the German tabloid, the reason for this was Shon Weissman's social media posts shortly after the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, in which he called for "cleansing Gaza" and "dropping 200 tons of bombs on it." He also liked posts claiming that "there are no innocents" in the Palestinian enclave and that Gazans "do not need to be warned about attacks." Fans even launched an online petition calling for his transfer to be canceled.
I am a son of a nation still grieving from the horrors of October 7th. That black day, when entire families were murdered, kidnapped, and brutalized, remained an open wound for me. as a person, as an Israeli, and as an athlete representing my country.
— shonweissman9 (@shonweissman9) August 5, 2025
The club did not specify whether its decision was related to this controversy. The Israeli player, for his part, removed the posts in question. In a series of posts on X, he explained that he "accepts all criticism" but regrets that "the full context" of these posts was not taken into account and calls himself "a son of [his] nation, still in mourning after the horrors of October 7.
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