French sports activities pictures pageant removes image taken in Gaza

Efe Ozkan

An image taken by a Palestinian photographer was faraway from a sports activities pictures pageant within the French coastal metropolis of Deauville after organizers obtained requests from unnamed sources, studies mentioned Monday.

The picture on the Deauville Sport Images Festival was changed with a picture of cyclists, native newspaper Le Pays d’Auge reported.

The Normandy seaside resort of Deauville, which organized the pageant, confirmed that the picture had been changed however didn’t reveal who had requested for this step.

“We do not want to enter into controversy or offend anyone,” the native authorities mentioned, based on the newspaper.

The {photograph} confirmed gamers from the Gaza Sports Club and Egyptian membership Al-Ahly enjoying a soccer match in Gaza on Feb. 14, 2026, with closely broken buildings seen across the pitch. The picture is credited to Jehad Alshrafi, a photojournalist with the Associated Press.

The picture was a part of the second version of the Deauville Sport Images Festival, which options about 300 footage displayed throughout the city and is scheduled to run by means of Sept. 6.

The change was seen final Thursday night by Sylvain Larcher, the native secretary of France’s Socialist Party and a member of the Gauche Cote Fleurie affiliation, based on Le Pays d’Auge.

Larcher questioned the choice to take away the picture, saying it represented greater than a soccer match because it highlighted Palestinians’ efforts to proceed enjoying sports activities and keep a way of normality and hope amid the destruction in Gaza, the newspaper reported.

The pageant’s inventive director, Agnee Vergez, beforehand described the exhibit as providing totally different views on sport.

The removing was additionally highlighted on social media by a French-Israeli consumer often known as Mike Krief who welcomed its substitute and efforts to have the picture eliminated.

The pageant organizers confirmed to Le Pays d’Auge that the picture had been changed following requests however didn’t present additional particulars about who had made them.

The Deauville Sport Images Festival, organized by the municipality, explores sport by means of social, cultural, inventive, and historic views. The picture was amongst pictures included within the pageant’s program highlighting modern sporting occasions.​​​​​​​