Gaza football photo removed from French sports photography festival

A photograph by a Palestinian photographer was taken down from a sports photography festival in the French coastal city of Deauville, following requests from unidentified sources, according to reports on Monday.

The photo at the Deauville Sport Images Festival was replaced with an image of cyclists, local newspaper Le Pays d'Auge reported.

The Normandy seaside resort of Deauville, which organized the festival, confirmed that the photo had been replaced but did not reveal who had asked for this step. "We do not want to enter into controversy or offend anyone," the local government said, according to the newspaper.

The photograph showed players from the Gaza Sports Club and Egyptian club Al-Ahly playing a football match in Gaza on Feb. 14, 2026, with heavily damaged buildings visible around the pitch. The image is credited to Jehad Alshrafi, a photojournalist with the Associated Press.

The photo was part of the second edition of the Deauville Sport Images Festival, which features about 300 pictures displayed across the town and is scheduled to run through Sept. 6.

Local official questions removal decision

The change was noticed last Thursday evening by Sylvain Larcher, the local secretary of France's Socialist Party and a member of the Gauche Cote Fleurie association, according to Le Pays d'Auge.

Larcher questioned the decision to remove the image, saying it represented more than a football match because it highlighted Palestinians' efforts to continue playing sports and maintain a sense of normality and hope amid the destruction in Gaza, the newspaper reported.

The festival's artistic director, Agnes Vergez, previously described the exhibit as offering different perspectives on sport. The removal was also highlighted on social media by a French-Israeli user known as Mike Krief, who welcomed the image's removal and replacement.

The festival organizers confirmed to Le Pays d'Auge that the photo was replaced following requests but did not provide further details about who made them.

The Deauville Sport Images Festival, organized by the municipality, explores sport through social, cultural, artistic, and historical perspectives. The photo was among the images included in the festival's program highlighting contemporary sporting events.

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