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Reports: Cristiano Ronaldo Donated $1.5 million to Palestine for Ramadan (Corrected)

Editor’s Note: The original source for this story, Venezuela-based global English language media outlet TeleSUR, issued a correction on May 20th, stating that the claim Ronaldo donated $1.5 million to Palestine on this occasion was in fact false. After TeleSUR published the original report, the story cascaded across many outlets and social media accounts worldwide. Their retraction states:

“While multiple news outlets reported the news last week, on May 20, Ronaldo’s management agency Gestifute affirmed that the story is false. Last week multiple news organizations and a certain Nigerian charity reported unconfirmed news that high-profile footballer Cristiano Ronaldo had donated “$1.5 million” to Gaza. teleSUR English ran the story without the proper confirmation from an official source and a fact checker revealed the news to be unfounded. On Monday, Ronaldo’s management agency Gestifute affirmed that the story is false.

Disclaimer: This story has been changed and corrected in order to reflect the lack of confirmation about the alleged donation by the footballer to Gaza. teleSUR reached out to Ronaldo’s management agency Gestifute for a comment. The story has been updated with Gestifute‘s response that the claim is false.” (TeleSUR)

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TeleSUR English reported:

Although sports media rarely highlights this facet of the soccer star, Ronaldo has always been close to the Palestinian cause, publicly rejecting the illegal and genocidal incursions of the Israeli regime on several occasions.

In November 2012, while Gaza was being blanketed with bombs by Israel in their Operation Pillar of Defense, Ronaldo auctioned off his Golden Boot, the prestigious award given to the best European strikers of the season, to raise funds that were later donated to the Palestinian children.

The following year, in March 2013, at the end of the match between Portugal and Israel for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, he refused to exchange his shirt with an Israeli player. Although he shook hands, he excused himself by explaining that he could not wear a shirt with that country’s flag, as reported in the press.

Ahmad Daubasha, a 5-year-old boy who was the only survivor of a Palestinian family attacked by Israeli settlers, was received by Ronaldo in 2016 at the Real Madrid training center where he photographed himself with the boy and gave him a shirt dedicated especially to him.

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21WIRE Editor’s Note: Addendum: One of the reasons that the TeleSUR story seemed somewhat credible at first glance is that football star Christiano Ronald has donated generously to numerous charitable causes globally, including in aid of Palestine, but also in support of people in Syria, Myanmar and elsewhere. However, in this case, the claim of $1.5 million to Palestine appears to be false, and so numerous outlets who republished TeleSUR’s claims – including 21WIRE, have since updated their posts on this story.

READ MORE PALESTINE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Palestine Files

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