England cricket star Moeen Ali deletes Palestine post on social media after revealing 'extremist' fears
England cricket star Moeen Ali has deleted a post that seemingly showed support for Palestine
PA
England cricket vice-captain Moeen Ali has deleted a post on social media that seemed to show support for Palestine.
The 36-year-old took to Instagram to share a picture of the Palestinian flag, as well as a quote from Malcom X.
The quote read: "If you're not careful the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing."
It has since been deleted, however, and replaced by merely the quote itself.
The words of the famous American figure have been typed against a black background containing a picture of Malcolm X.
Ali has become the second player at this year's Cricket World Cup to seemingly show support for Palestine and their civilians.
Pakistan's Muhammad Rizwan dedicated his century against Sri Lanka to people from the country earlier in the week.
"This was for our brothers and sisters in Gaza," he wrote.
Ali's actions on social media come just hours after he'd revealed he had feared being labelled an extremist.
The England cricket star is known for his long beard.
But, in an interview with Sky Sports, Ali revealed he'd worried about sporting his trademark look because of potentially being unfairly targeted.
"Muhammad Ali was a massive inspiration for me because of his upbringing and becoming a Muslim," he told Sky Sports.
"Then Hashim Amla as a cricketer in South Africa having a big beard. If he can do it, why can't I?
"It's what I wanted to do but I was a bit afraid at the time.
"I was young and I didn't want people to think — even my own family — I was extreme or becoming an extremist.
"Because at that time, that's all people were talking about — Muslims being extreme."
Ali has shown support for Palestine in the past.
The England vice-captain donned two wristbands back in 2014 with the words 'Save Gaza' and 'Free Palestine' written on them.
He received permission from the English and Wales Cricket Board to wear the bands due to him making the statement on huminitarian, rather than political grounds.
Ali was, though, later asked to remove the bands during England's match against India by the International Cricket Council.
Israel was attacked by terrorist group Hamas over the weekend and have since retaliated with assaults of their own.
The death toll has risen to over 1,200 so far.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Over 1,200 people have died following Hamas' attacks on Israel over the weekend
GETTY
The Football Association considered lighting up the Wembley arch in a show of solidarity for Israel earlier in the week.
That is now unlikely to happen, however, with supremos behind the scenes fearing a big backlash.
You may like
