Amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, an image has been widely shared online showing children holding a Palestinian flag and giving high-fives to football players on the pitch. The image is circulated with claims that the Italian football team, Inter Milan, expressed solidarity with Palestine before a recent match. It has garnered significant attention and engagement across social media platforms. However, Fact Crescendo’s investigation reveals that this claim is misleading.
In this article, we examine the origins of the image and clarify the facts behind its recent circulation.
Social Media Claim
On Sunday, July 6th, 2025, a Facebook user posted an image showing children holding a Palestinian flag and giving high-fives to football players on the pitch, along with a claim that the Italian team Inter Milan had shown solidarity with Palestine before a recent match in early July 2025. The image has sparked reactions on social media due to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
Below is a snapshot that describes, “Italian team Inter Milan show solidarity with Palestine before their game!.”
The image, along with the same claim, has also been posted and shared by multiple users on Facebook over the past few days. Further information and specific examples of these posts can be found below.
Below is a screenshot of a Threads post shared on May 18, 2025, featuring the same image with the caption: “Inter Milan ❤ ️ Palestine. We ❤️ Inter Milan. FREE 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸.”
Due to the widespread dissemination and public interest, Fact Crescendo decided to investigate the authenticity and context of the image.
Fact Check
Fact Crescendo reviewed and verified the above claim through the Google Reverse Image Search process, which led to the following facts:
First, we found that there are no current images or videos showing Inter Milan players officially holding or standing behind a Palestinian flag before any match in 2025.
The original image was actually published by the well-known stock photo agency Getty Images on September 23, 2009, nearly 16 years ago. It was taken before a Serie A match between Inter Milan and Napoli at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan, Italy.
According to the description on Getty Images, the children featured in the photo were Israeli and Palestinian youths who were part of an Inter Milan-run youth camp. As part of a symbolic peace gesture, they walked onto the field before kickoff holding both Israeli and Palestinian flags and exchanged high-fives with Inter Milan players. The act was intended to promote unity and coexistence, not as a political endorsement related to recent events.
Below is a screenshot from the Getty Images website showing children holding both the Palestinian and Israeli flags.
Below is a comparison between the photo circulated on social media and the original photo.
Fact Crescendo has also found that the most recent match involving Inter Milan took place on June 30, 2025, during the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, where they were eliminated after a 2–0 loss to Fluminense in the Round of 16. Our investigation reviewed both the opening and closing scenes of the match and found no evidence of the team displaying a Palestinian flag at any point.
The following is the highlight of the football match between Inter Milan and Fluminense, and there is no scene showing the team expressing solidarity with Palestine before the game.
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Conclusion
Fact Crescendo found that the above-mentioned claim is misleading. In fact, the image was taken on September 23, 2009, and shows children holding both Israeli and Palestinian flags, not during a recent 2025 match, as claimed.
Title:Misleading: Inter Milan Did Not Display Palestinian Flag in 2025 Match
Fact Check By: Kakada SimResult: Misleading
