Yasin Ayari celebrated his goal for Sweden against Tunisia with a prayer position during the World Cup opener. The gesture has sparked debate on identity and Islam in Sweden.
When Yasin Ayari scored for Sweden in the World Cup match against Tunisia, he went down into a prayer position. The gesture sparked debate on editorial pages and social media, with criticism directed at the Sweden Democrats' rhetoric on Islam.
SVT World Cup expert Behrang Safari highlighted football's unifying role. ”What football does is everything that politicians never manage, which is to unite and bring together”, he said.
Theologian Joel Halldorf described the gesture as a symbol of ”blue-yellow Islam” in a social media post and a text in Expressen. He linked it to the national team reflecting Swedish society.
Jimmie Åkesson called the criticism of the SD ”nonsense” and said faith is primarily a private matter in Sweden. Stockholm resident Saba Gebrewold expressed pride in Ayari's action on Instagram.
