Former Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has rejected a social media post that paired an old tweet of his with a photo from a protest in France. “Stop spreading lies,” he wrote.
The post showed a picture of a man holding a Palestinian flag at a protest in France. Next to the picture, the user shared Khawaja’s earlier tweet: “Can’t wait for this. Palestinian flags will be flying everywhere.”
Khawaja replied on X and explained when and why he wrote it. “I wrote this 2 years ago for a football game. Stop spreading lies,” he said.
Protests in France have been going on for weeks over public services and the education system. Some have turned violent, with clashes between demonstrators and police.
Khawaja posted the original message on June 10, 2024. It referred to the 2026 World Cup qualifier between Australia and Palestine, played the next day at HBF Park in Perth. In the same tweet, he stated that fans could not be banned from flying the flags.
Khawaja has spoken openly about Gaza in recent years. In December 2023, he planned to wear shoes carrying the messages “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” in the colours of the Palestinian flag during a Test against Pakistan. The International Cricket Council (ICC) ruled the messages political and did not allow them.
