The Football Association (FA) wrote to the football clubs advising that they should stop their players from using the phrase "from the river to the sea" after Leicester City's Hamza Choudhury posted the same phrase on X, formerly Twitter.
UK home secretary, Suella Braverman, urged the police officials to consider this phrase "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" as an "expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world".
An FA spokesperson said: “After careful consideration, we will be writing to all clubs to make it clear that this phrase is considered offensive to many, and should not be used by players in social media posts. The player has apologised and deleted the tweet.
“We are strongly encouraging clubs to ensure that players do not post content which may be offensive or inflammatory to any community. If this phrase is used again by a football participant, we will seek police guidance on how we should treat it and respond.”
Hamza's post on X sparked controversy as several pro-Israel individuals were asking to ban the 26-year-old footballer. However, he deleted the post and apologised saying that his intention was nothing more than showing compassion for the innocent people that are suffering.
"I share the hope of people around the world that a peaceful resolution can bring an end to the ongoing suffering of innocent people in this conflict," the 26-year-old added.
It is worth noting that the term refers to the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea.
While Israelis believe that this term means the end of Israel from the world map, pro-Palestine activists say that the phrase refers to the end of Israel's occupation in the West Bank and blockade of Gaza, not the destruction of the country itself.
It must be noted that Israel has deployed ground troops into the Gaza Strip in recent days to "crush" the Palestinian group Hamas after its fighters killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, including women, children and the elderly, in an October 7 attack.
Since then, Israel has hit back with an unrelenting air and artillery bombardment, which the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza says has killed more than 8,500 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children.
Internet and phone networks were down across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the Palestinian telecommunications agency said, in the second such blackout in the besieged territory in less than a week.