Former Scotland cricketer apologises for Gaza comments

A former Scotland cricketer and BBC pundit has apologised for social media comments relating to the ongoing conflict in Gaza where he compared world leaders to Hitler.

Qasim Sheikh, who was capped 32 times for his country, retweeted a mocked up picture of world leaders, including Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu with Hitler-style moustaches under the words "Kids Killers Union."

The former batsman also referred to Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer as "genocide enablers."

In a statement Mr Sheikh said the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel was "morally reprehensible" and that he wanted "all conflict" to stop.

The BBC said it had spoken to Mr Sheikh about the posts and it issued a statement on his behalf.

It read: "If my messages have caused people to think I am supporting the attacks of 7 October, then that would not sit well with me, and I apologise for any offence this has caused.

"I would never seek to support any loss of innocent lives. That was not my intention."

Mr Sheikh said that he welcomed the opportunity to "clearly state" his views and that there was "no way" he would have supported the 7 October attacks on Israel, when Hamas fighters entered the country and killed around 1,200 people, while taking hundreds more hostage.

Call for ceasefire

Since then Israel has vowed to "crush" Hamas, leading to several months of fighting and a more than 36,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

Mr Sheikh stated: "There is no way I would support what happened on 7 October as acceptable, it was morally reprehensible. As is the ongoing situation in Gaza where many innocent lives continue to be lost - many of which are women and children.

"I will continue to call for a stop on the killing of innocent civilians, my message is clear for a ceasefire and a stop to all conflict."

Mr Sheikh was one of a number of former Scotland players who previously raised complaints about governing body Scottish Cricket.

That led to an independent report that found the leadership of the governing body to be institutionally racist, with 448 instances of racism found in the sport.

In 2023 four members of Cricket Scotland's equality and anti-racism working group resigned over what they said was a lack of progress in tackling racism in the sport.

That decision prompted chairman Anjan Luthra to stand down as well.

Mr Sheik has recently appeared as a pundit for BBC Radio 5live and BBC Radio Scotland’s weekend Sportsound programme.