A viral video shared on X claims to show a teenager running across the field in a Spanish stadium with a pro-Palestinian poster.
A teenager in a Spanish stadium runs across the field with a poster in defense of Palestine 🇵🇸. Pursued by security guards, he is grabbed and beaten. The people invaded the field and acted in favor of the young man, beating the security guards and freeing the young protester.
Let it serve as a lesson! pic.twitter.com/YBflotB908— PRAVDA-BR (@FalaChupetinha) June 10, 2024
Verdict: False
The original video, published on YouTube, shows a young fan of the Portuguese football club Benfica running across the field holding a banner to support the referee. The incident happened in 2009, making it predate the current Israel-Hamas conflict.
Fact Check:
Pro-Palestine protests recently occurred at the site of the Nova Music Festival Exhibition in Manhattan, according to CBS News. The exhibition honors the victims of the October 7 terrorist attack on the music festival, the outlet reported.
The X video, which has garnered over 400,000 views as of writing, claims to show a teenager running across the field in a Spanish stadium with a pro-Palestinian poster.
“A teenager in a Spanish stadium runs across the field with a poster in defense of Palestine. Pursued by security guards, he is grabbed and beaten. The people invaded the field and acted in favor of the young man, beating the security guards and freeing the young protester. Let it serve as a lesson!” a translation of the video’s caption reads.
The claim is false, however. The original video, published on YouTube, shows a young fan of the Portuguese football club Benfica running across the field holding a banner to support the referee.
“In a pre-season game a few years ago…a fan decides to enter the field to cheer up the Portuguese referee…until 4 security guards appear and start beating him in the middle of the field,” a translation of the video’s description begins.
“The Benfica fans, upon seeing that, lost their heads and entered the field beating the security guards. Upon seeing that, the rival team’s fans decided to do the same and join the Benfica fans. the security guards turned out to be bad and took it in the old-fashioned way,” it continues.
The incident happened in 2009, making it predate the current Israel-Hamas conflict.
Likewise, Check Your Fact did not find the viral X video referenced in any recent credible news reports about the current conflict. In fact, the opposite is true. On June 12, Misbar reported the video showed the 2009 incident involving the Benfica fan. (RELATED: Did The Italian Minister Hang The Palestinian Flag On The Milan Cathedral?)
Furthermore, Benfica has not publicly commented on the claim.
This is not the first time a false claim has circulated online. Check Your Fact previously debunked an X post that claimed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) admitted it shot down a Russian cargo plane.