Yemenis divided over support for Saudi Arabia after World Cup win
Al JazeeraSeveral leaders of the Houthi rebels initially congratulated the Saudi team, before retracting their comments. The Houthis have been actively fighting a war against Saudi Arabia since 2015, with the latter conducting thousands of air attacks in support of the Houthis’ enemy, the Yemeni government. Al-Mortada later explained that his tweet was a message of brotherhood to the people of “Hejaz and Najd”, using the names of two well-known regions in Saudi Arabia, rather than the country’s name itself. Videos of the celebrations have spread widely across social media, with one Yemeni user saying the Saudi win had “warmed our hearts and raised the Arabs’ head, making Yemenis happy everywhere, as if it were the Yemeni national team”. “It offended me a lot when the majority congratulated the Saudi team because they are Arab … they can all go to hell.” Another Houthi supporter on Twitter said he “did not, and will not, celebrate the Saudi national team’s win over Argentina”, before referring to the support of members of the Saudi national team for the country’s military.
History of this topic
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Yemen: Houthi-backed court serves death penalty to 16; jail terms for 13 others
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‘Relish this moment, forget about the war’: Yemenis on World Cup
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‘Pure diplomatic vandalism’: Fears as Trump administration designates Yemen Houthis as ‘terrorist’ group
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