Claim: Diego Maradona, loved Israel and prayed at the Kotel before each of his World Cups.
Fact: Diego Maradona was a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and issued statements denouncing Israel’s actions in Palestine on several occasions.
On 10 July 2024, world-famous rabbi Rabbi Shmuley Boteach posted a video on X in which he claimed that famed Argentinian football player Diego Maradona was a lover of Israel and called him an “Argentinian catholic lover of Israel and lover of the Jewish people”.
The video post was captioned, “Diego Maradona, the greatest footballer of all time, loved Israel and the Jewish people. I hosted in at Oxford 30 years ago in front of 1000 students. He prayed at the Kotel before each of his World Cups.”
Fact or Fiction?
Diego Maradona was an Argentine football player, who is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time. By the time of his retirement, Maradona had played over 600 matches and scored over 300 goals. He led his country to victory in the 1986 FIFA World Cup and scored what was considered the “goal of the century” against England. In 2000 Maradona was voted as FIFA Player of the Century, an honour he shares only with Brazilian footballer Pele.
Soch Fact Check broke down Rabbi Shmuley’s claims namely that Maradona spoke at Oxford, prayed at the Kotel before every match and that he was a lover of Israel. In the video, Shmuley recalled when Maradona spoke at the Oxford University L’Chaim Society at his invitation. The Oxford University L’Chaim Society was formed in 1989 by Rabbi Shmuley, and Maradona spoke at an event in 1995. At the event, Maradona discussed his childhood in a shanty town in Argentina and spoke of his love for football. He was quoted in OxfordMail saying that he was, “born on a football pitch in the 1960s with a football secured between his teeth and the Argentinian national team on his back”.
In the video, Shmuley also claimed that Maradona prayed at the Kotel before each World Cup match. Kotel is a shortened version of the Hebrew term “ha-kotel ha-ma’aravi” which translates to the Western Wall. The Western Wall is the holiest site in Judaism because it is a remnant of the Herodian retaining wall that once encompassed the Second Temple. It is where many Jewish people and members of other faiths come to pray.
Diego Maradona is recorded to have visited Israel twice in his life; once in 1990 and then in 1995. During his trip in 1990, Maradona was photographed visiting the Kotel and offering prayers at the holy site. However, the claim made by Shmuley that he visited the Kotel and prayed there before each of his World Cup matches is false. There is only one recorded instance of Maradona ever visiting the wall, during his trip to Israel in 1990.
Finally, Rabbi Shmuley claimed that Maradona was a lover of Israel. But when Soch Fact Check looked into the claim, we found that Maradona was an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian cause and had criticised Israel on many occasions. In 2012 Maradona told reporters he was, “the number one fan of the Palestinian people. I respect them and sympathize with them.”
In 2014 during Israel’s bombardment of Gaza known as “Operation Protective Edge”, Maradona criticised Israel on television saying, “In Latin America, we know to give love, and in other places, they drop bombs. What Israel is doing to the Palestinians is shameful.”
A year later, Maradona entered talks to coach the Palestinian national football team for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
Maradona spoke for the Palestinian cause again in 2018 when he met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and said, “In my heart I am Palestinian.”
Therefore Soch Fact Check concludes that Shmuley’s claims are misleading.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the same claim had been shared on Facebook here.
Conclusion: The claim that Diego Maradona loved Israel, speaking at Oxfordand prayed at the Kotel before each of his World Cups is misleading. Maradona did speak at Oxford, however he was recorded visiting the Kotel only once in 1990. He was also an outspoken critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza and was a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause.
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com