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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Sports fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about sports. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

1,766 published reviews in this topic

FACTLYSports

Mohammed Siraj and Rashid Khan have dedicated their victories to Israel by expressing their solidarity in light of the ongoing war with Palestine

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns two specific alleged expressions of support for Israel during the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup: a purported Mohammed Siraj tweet after India beat Pakistan, and a statement attributed to Rashid Khan after Afghanistan beat England. FACTLY investigated both allegations separately and concluded that neither player made the claimed dedication. Its finding is consistent with the rating displayed by the publisher. For Siraj, the review says it could not find the alleged tweet on his official X account or other social media handles. It traced the post shown in a screenshot by searching the user ID visible there and found that it came from a parody account. The account’s ID and surname differed from those of Siraj’s official handle. As further context, the review says Siraj’s actual post after India’s win read, “3 W We continue the work,” and reports finding no statement from him supporting Israel in the conflict. For Khan, the review says it found no news report confirming that he had dedicated Afghanistan’s victory to Israel. Instead, it identifies his post-match remarks as dedicating the win to Afghans affected by a recent earthquake: Khan said the victory might put “a little bit of smile on their faces.” The review also notes that the image used in the allegation carried the caption “Afghanistan-3/37 v ENG Tonight.” Taken together, the review’s account identifies a parody source for the Siraj attribution and a different stated dedication for Khan, rather than evidence of the claimed expressions of solidarity.

FACTLYSports

Cristiano Ronaldo’s video message expressing his support for Palestine in its ongoing war with Israel

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a circulating video said to show Cristiano Ronaldo expressing support for Palestine during the Israel–Palestine conflict. FACTLY reports that the footage instead came from a 2016 message Ronaldo made for children affected by the war in Syria. The investigation says it found the same video on Ronaldo’s official X account, posted with a description identifying it as “A message of hope to the children affected by the conflict in Syria” and mentioning Save the Children. The words spoken in the clip also identify its intended audience: Ronaldo addresses “children of Syria,” acknowledges their suffering, and calls them “the true heroes.” FACTLY says the message was part of Save the Children’s Syria campaign. That original-media provenance and the message’s explicit reference to Syria contradict the post’s presentation of the clip as a message about Palestine and the ongoing Israel–Palestine war. FACTLY therefore concludes that an old message for Syrian children was falsely linked to the later conflict. The review also contains an update about a different video involving placards and a handshake; that separate material is not the video-message claim addressed here.

DoğrulaSports

Videonun Ronaldo’nun Filistin’e destek çağrısını gösterdiği iddiası

Publisher’s rating: Yanlış

The claim concerns a video presented as showing Cristiano Ronaldo calling for support for Palestine. Doğrula says it traced the video to Ronaldo’s own X account, where it was posted in 2016 with a message identifying its intended audience as children affected by the conflict in Syria. The review also says the video appears on his Instagram account. Its account therefore places the footage years before the current events to which the claim links it. (S1)

YouturnSports

#INDvsPAK – This is Mohammad Siraj, a patriotic Indian Pasmanda Muslim and a Narendra Modi fan. – He dedicated his great performance to Israel. – Siraj said, “He stands with Israel.” – He stated that every Indian should support Israel as it is India’s official stand. – He also called out Maulana Rizwan, urging him not to engage in any politics and propaganda in cricket. – He referred to him as a fake man and an ordinary cricketer.

Publisher’s rating: Fake

Factcrescendo Sri LankaSports

Cristiano Ronaldo Waving Palestine Flag !!

Publisher’s rating: False

The claim concerns a viral video said to show Cristiano Ronaldo displaying a Palestinian flag. Fact Crescendo’s review identifies the person in that footage as Moroccan footballer Jawad El Yamiq, not Ronaldo. It says the video shows a footballer raising the flag on the pitch and that the social-media caption presented the gesture as Ronaldo’s support for Palestine. (S1: “The person waving the Palestine flag is Moroccan footballer Jawad El Yamiq, Not Cristiano Ronaldo.”; “Caption states, “Star footballer Christiano Ronaldo is supporting Palestine by raising their flag after victory”.”) The review describes using keyword searches and reverse-image searches to investigate the video. It reports finding the footage on Middle East Eye’s YouTube channel, uploaded on December 2, 2022, with a title identifying Morocco’s Jawad El Yamiq celebrating the win over Canada with a Palestinian flag. It also points to Getty Images, whose description identifies El Yamiq as Morocco’s defender number 18 and says he waved the flag after the Morocco–Canada match at Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha on December 1, 2022. (S1: “By performing keyword and reverse image search on Google we found that the media organisation Middle East Eye uploaded the viral video on YouTube on 2 December, 2022 with a title, “World Cup: Morocco’s Jawad El Yamiq celebrates win over Canada with Palestinian flag”.”; “Getty images Keeping this in mind, we performed more keyword search and found some reports shared by CNN and The Indian Express.”) The review distinguishes that 2022 footage from a later flag display: it says CNN and The Indian Express reported that Morocco displayed a Palestinian flag on the pitch again after defeating Spain on December 7, 2022. The excerpt does not establish that the later reports show the same video; its identification of the viral footage rests on the Middle East Eye and Getty material about El Yamiq and the Canada match. (S1: “These reports from 7 December 2022 mentioned that after Morocco defeated Spain during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the team displayed a Palestinian flag again on the pitch.”; “Thus it is clear that the viral video does not show Cristiano Ronaldo.”)

PA MediaSports

Football fans at a match in Ireland show support for Palestine.

Publisher’s rating: Evaluation: False. The video shows a match in the Moroccan football league between Raja Athletic Casablanca and Moghreb Atletico Tetouan. It was played at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca, Morocco, most likely on Sunday October 8, 2023.

مرصد أخبار ميترSports

دعم النني لفلسطين يمنع اتحاد الكرة من إضاءة ملعب ويمبلي بألوان العلم الإسرائيلي

Publisher’s rating: خبر كاذب - كتبت وزارة الثقافة والإعلام والرياضة التابعة لحكومة المملكة المتحدة إلى الهيئات الرياضية يوم الأربعاء لتشجيعها على تقديم الاحترام للضحايا في الأحداث المقبلة.