Hossam Hassan (Egypt's head coach) about Palestine:
"Everyone has feelings, and if there is a single person in the world who doesn't feel for the Palestinian people, then they aren't human. They aren't human, regardless of whether they are Arab, European, American, or anything else.
We always see that even among populations in Europe, around the world, and in America, if an animal is mistreated or harmed, human rights, animal rights, and all world organizations stand up. But when thousands of human beings are killed every single day, children and women.. while we are sitting in air conditioning, living in palaces or apartments, with food right in front of us, these children and communities are living in tents in the winter cold and the summer heat. When it's hot, we want AC and fans, and when it's winter, we want a closed home, heaters, and blankets. The Palestinian people are living out in the open. Don't we feel for the children we see who can't find food? Who suffer from illness and epidemics due to the lack of food, lack of sleep, and lack of a proper life?
If I don't feel this as a human being, then my life has no value. Any human being on Earth who doesn't feel what is happening in Palestine, regardless of whether they are Muslim, Christian, or Jewish, is not a human being and shouldn't live. If we insist on turning a blind eye..those who have the power to make decisions should put themselves and their own children in that position for just one day. Let them stay in the street under the sun, the rain, and the cold just to try it and see how they would survive. When heavy rain happens here, people take cover and run. But torrential rains happen in Gaza and Palestine, and people can't find anything to warm themselves up with, nor can they escape the rain or the sun.
So I say, it is a shame on all of us. A shame on the whole world, not just the Arab world or Africa. It is a shame on all of us and a shame on the decision-makers who leave human beings who are just like us. We are all the same; we have eyes, faces, heads, and bodies. Today, one thousand, two thousand, three thousand, or four thousand people are hit by a rocket and die, and it's treated as normal. Meanwhile, populations everywhere, including in Europe and America, are looking at something else-perhaps because they are shown a completely different image.
Regardless of religion, we are talking about how you treat animals. If a video shows someone harming a street animal, we would all demand they be tracked down and prosecuted. But what about those who kill people? What about that rocket that comes down and kills people? Regardless of religion, I am not talking about Islam, Christianity, or Judaism. The feelings I expressed came straight from within me because I am a human being, just like the people who are dying. I am a human being before my identity, my religion, or whether I am Arab or foreign."