Arab Heritage in Euro 2020 Tournament this Summer

posted on: Aug 24, 2020

Twitter                                                                                                                        BY: Joyce Behrens/ Arab America Contributing Writer

***UPDATE: EURO 2020 HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO 2021 DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC***

Everyone is talking about the 2022 Qatar World Cup, however, we are forgetting another tournament. Euro 2020 is just around the corner! It’s a football tournament with the same concept as the World Cup, only involving European countries. Now, you may be thinking “So why is this important?” or “How does it relate to the Arab world?”. A few of the players, representing France, Belgium, and Sweden, have Arab heritage. These athletes have put blood, sweat, and tears into achieving their sports ambitions. Not to mention, the adversity some have faced off the field along the way. These are the footballers with Arab blood that will be competing in Euro 2020.

Nacer Chadli

Talk Sports                                                                                                          Chadli is one of the midfielders for the Belgian National Team since 2011. He is currently on loan at Anderlecht in the Belgian First Division A league from Monaco AS. Before, he played six years in the Premier League club team, Tottenham. Born in Liége, Belgium to Moroccan parents. He lives a private life, away from the media spotlight. He has played one international match for the Moroccan national team in 2010 against North Ireland. However, the Belgian coach at the time, Georges Leekens, was interested in Chadli’s skills. He showed Chadli around the training camp for the Belgian side. From this tour, and since he played a non-competitive match for Morocco, he chose to represent Belgium.

Chadli received attention for his performance from the 2018 World Cup in Russia. During the Round of 16 matches against Japan, he came off the bench when Belgium was down two goals but assisted the team in victory. He scored the winning goal in the 94^th minute, sending Belgium into the quarterfinals. Since then, he became part of the starting eleven for the next three matches, earning third place in the tournament.

Jimmy Durmaz

Business Insider                                                                                          Durmaz is a forward and wing midfielder for the Swedish National Team. His club is now Galatasaray in the Turkish league. He previously played for Toulouse FC. He was born in Sweden into a Syrian Orthodox Christian family. His mother was born in Lebanon and raised in Syria during her early childhood. His father is from Turkey. Both of his parents have fled their countries because of war. He represented Sweden during the 2018 World Cup. Durmaz had one appearance during the tournament.

He received social media threats after a foul committed by him against Germany cost Sweden victory in the match. Threats labeled him as “suicide bomber” and “terrorist”. Just because of his mistake during the match while being of Arab heritage. However, head coach Andersson, as well as his teammates, defended him. He addressed the media that he does not allow the intolerance and death threats directed at him. He told reporters it’s a footballers’ job to be criticized for their performance, but racism is not excusable. Following this adversity, he plowed forward and now is a part of the Swedish roster for 2020.

Nabil Fekir

Metro                                                                                                                                                                                  Fekir plays as an attacking midfielder for the French National Team. Currently, he plays for the Real Betis in La Liga as his club team. He is of Algerian descent. Both his parents fled for France around the aftermath of Algeria’s Independence. As a child, coaches at Lyon B youth camps told him he isn’t strong enough to play. From these comments, he played in different youth camps to prove the Lyon coaches wrong. Eventually, he achieved his childhood goal. He played six years for Lyon, before committing to Real Betis in 2019.

Back in 2015, Fekir originally planned to represent Algeria at the international level. He initially wanted to represent his parents’ birth country. The head coach for France, Didier Deschamps, persuaded Fekir to change his mind and represent France. Deschamps saw his skill work on the field and thought Fekir can benefit the French national team. Fekir was a part of the roster when France won the World Cup in 2018 in Russia.

****Update, Euro 2020 have moved to Summer 2021 due to COVID-19 PANDEMIC****

 

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