Brighton protect manager Roberto de Zerbi after fake Israel-Palestine comments surface

Brighton have moved to protect manager Roberto De Zerbi after a fake social media account pretending to be him made comments on the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Despite the account being verified, Brighton and the agency that represents the Italian coach made fans aware that the account was fake, saying: "This account is not run by Roberto or his representatives and has absolutely no association with him.

"We have asked Meta to take the account down as soon as possible."

The Instagram story from the fake account read: "I support the Palestinian cause, and I hope that it will return to white it was, and I hope that Sudan will return to what it was, and that peace will prevail on the lands of Sudan, and I hope that peace will last throughout the Arab and Muslim countries."

It comes as at least 800 people have reportedly been killed in Israel, local media has reported — a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades — and almost 500 have been killed in Gaza, with thousands wounded. Palestinian militants claimed to be holding over 130 captives.

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