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Real Madrid dream comes true for Palestinian fireball orphan

A Palestinian boy who survived a firebombing by Jewish extremists that killed his parents and baby brother was greeted by Real Madrid's stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, on Thursday.

Real Madrid dream comes true for Palestinian fireball orphan
Five year old Ahmed met the Real Madrid team. Photo: Real Madrid Info / Twitter

Five-year-old Ahmed Dawabcheh has been recovering from his injuries over the past eight months.

Moved by images of the bandaged boy wearing a Real Madrid jersey, Palestinians campaigned for months on social media to persuade the team to meet Ahmed.

And his dream came true as he posed for photos and had a Real shirt christened with own name on the back signed by the club's Galacticos, including three-time World Player of the Year Ronaldo and Welsh star Bale.

 

 

“The Real Madrid team met him and took photos with him and gave him a shirt and ball signed by the whole team,” Madrid said in a statement.

“Clearly moved, the boy ran around the facilities before witnessing his idols train.”

After meeting the players at Real's training ground, Ahmed was then given a tour of the club's Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

 

 

The attack in July drew renewed attention to Jewish extremism, sparked international condemnation and worsened tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinian Football Association head Jibril Rajoub said Real Madrid were “restoring hope for a child who lost his entire family”.

 

 

In December Ronaldo also met a three-year-old Lebanese boy who had lost both parents in a suicide bombing in his home country.

His on-field rival, Barcelona's Lionel Messi, was similarly moved by the plight of another five-year-old.

Afghan boy Murtaza Ahmadi won the internet's heart when he was pictured wearing a plastic bag as an improvised Messi jersey.

He travelled with his family to Kabul last month to receive two jerseys autographed by the Argentine star, which were presented to the young fan by UNICEF.

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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