FINALLY, after 22 long years, the grail of recapturing the English league title has become a reality. Mikael Arteta can now join the esteemed list of Gunner Greats such as George Graham and Arsene Wenger that brought glory to that red corner of North London.
The incredible popularity and appeal of the English premier football competition means that the triumph was celebrated by Gunner fans far and wide, including on these very shores.
Plenty of Malaysian fans would be looking forward to purchasing an official replica jersey next season with the “EPL Champions” shield proudly embossed on the sleeves.
But plans to parade around with their new tops have hit a speed bump with the appearance of pictures of the new jersey online, which featured the logo of human resource and payroll company – Deel.
Editor’s Note: Deel is a private HR technology and financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Founded in 2019, they operate a global infrastructure designed to help businesses navigate complex international labour laws, manage payroll and handle compliance.
So what’s the big deal? Sponsors logos are part and parcel of football jerseys.
Though the company is an American-founded global HR and payroll company, it has faced controversy and pro-Palestinian boycotts due to the public stance of its CEO and co-founder, Alex Bouaziz, who is French-Israeli and based in Tel Aviv.
Bouaziz openly expressed solidarity with Israel following the events of October 2023, posting “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The People of Israel Live”) and expressing support for Deel employees who were called up as military reservists.
As many are aware, the Palestinian issue is something close to many Malaysian’s hearts. There is significant peer pressure to conform to the popular narrative of showing solidarity with the beleaguered Palestinians.
Netizens, especially Muslim celebrities and influencers, are expected to display a Palestine flag as avatars while ordinary Malaysians are expected to blindly boycott brands suspected of being pro-Zionists.
Now, this may be a unpopular opinion but such overt pressure to conform may be causing an opposite effect.
The constant berating and hounding of silent or neutral observers may actually push people away from the Palestinian cause, with some not taking kindly to the incessant brow-beating.
The new Arsenal jersey is a case in point. After a two decade long wait, surely Gunner fans are entitled to choose how they celebrate and that includes purchasing a jersey featuring a sponsor’s logo whose CEO has expressed pro-Israeli views.
What they most certainly don’t need are the pro-Palestinian brigade disparaging and haranguing those who decide to purchase the jersey of the newly crowned champions.
Any Arsenal fan who feels strongly enough about the issue can choose NOT to buy the item. In fact, they can even choose NOT to support the team whose club opted to have a supposed pro-Israeli sponsor on its shirt.
But please respect the right of other supporters to choose and think for themselves. The constant berating is unhelpful and frankly, off-putting.
Such a stance has already been labelled as ‘woke’ in the West and has a negative impact on getting people behind the pro-Palestine perspective.
At some point, such sentiment will spill over here too, especially when it infringes on one’s personal liberties and almost sacred choice on one’s football allegiance.
While this is not to belittle the pro-Palestine issue, it would help if people were allowed to make up their minds for themselves.
Besides, the company will NOT be getting any money from the sale of these shirts. But if some Arsenal fans are uncomfortable parading around with an alleged pro-Israeli entity’s logo on their sleeves, then by all means, don’t buy the jersey.
There are a multitude of alternatives that don’t feature the Deel logo (baseball cap, anybody?). Just don’t pressure others to conform. It is belittling and frankly, quite irritating. – May 24, 2026
PS: Before anyone gets on their high horse about the Palestine conflict being of greater importance than football allegiances, just visit certain fast-food franchises allegedly having pro-Israeli sympathies.
You will note they are mostly packed despite the heated calls for boycotts.
Ah San Weng
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
