German football club Fortuna Düsseldorf has cancelled the planned signing of an Israeli player.
On August 5, the club posted on social media platform X: “We looked closely at Shon Weissman but ultimately decided not to sign him.”
According to a report by German tabloid Bild on the same day, the second division team from North Rhine Westphalia had already agreed on the transfer with Weissman who currently plays as striker for Spanish club Granada CF.
The fee was reportedly set at €500,000 – a bargain compared to Weissman’s market value of €1.2 million, according to news portal Transfermarkt.
Fortuna fans launched protests and a petition after it became known that Weissman had made several “controversial” posts on social media after the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023. Ultimately, club management bowed to fan pressure.
On August 4, the club had still defended Weissman in another post on X, writing: “Evaluating people you don’t know based on a Wikipedia article?! That doesn’t really fit in with our bubble…”
Weissman had reportedly “liked” several social media posts demanding decisive military action against Gaza in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist massacres that left more than 1,200 Israelis dead. The action also saw more than 200 abducted to Gaza where 50 remain as hostages – some dead, some alive – including six German citizens.
According to news site Ynet, Weissman had liked statements that included “erase Gaza” and “drop 200-ton bombs on it” in October 2023.
Fortuna Düsseldorf now faced widespread accusations of anti-Semitism.
On X on August 6, Manuel Ostermann, head of the German policemen’s union DPolG, called the decision “the bankruptcy declaration of a Bundesliga club that politicises sports”.
German journalist Malca Goldstein-Wolf wrote on X on August 5 that Weissman’s “heart had been broken” after the October 7 massacre.
“Now an anti-Semitic mob is attacking him and Fortuna Düsseldorf makes clear: Our solidarity lies with the dead Jews. We abandon the living like a hot potato when it becomes inconvenient for us,” Goldstein-Wolf added.
The 29-year-old Weissman was born in the Israeli town of Haifa. Besides his work with Granada CF he plays for the Israeli national team.
Previously, he has played for Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, Austria’s Wolfsberger AC and Spanish outfit Real Valladolid.
Brussels Signal reached out to Fortuna Düsseldorf for comment but had not heard back at the time of writing.
