Celine Haidar is about to fulfill his dream of representing the Lebanon in the national team when he was injured in an Israeli attack on the southern outskirts of Beirut. Today, the 19-year-old soccer player is still in intensive care, in a coma.
When Israeli bombardment intensified a few weeks ago in the southern suburbs of Beirutbastion of Hezbollahthe girl’s family took shelter baakline, a beautiful town located in the mountains.
“But Céline was forced to come down Beirut study and practice,” his father explained to AFP, Abbas Haidarfrom Saint-George hospital in the Lebanese capital.
“When there were evacuation calls and bombings, he would leave the house, then return at night to sleep,” he added.
On Saturday, the day of the accident, he called her to warn her of a new evacuation call from the Israeli army, which usually precedes attacks, and she left home.
“Then my husband called me to tell me that Celine “I’m in the hospital,” he said of being seriously injured by a blow to the head in an attack in his neighborhood. Chiya.
That day, the Israeli army relentlessly bombarded the southern suburbs from morning to night, targeting at least 10 locations, including Chiya.
The girl is about to become the captain of her first division women’s team, the Beirut Football Academywho won the championship last season.
He should join the national team for its upcoming competitions, including one against Iran which was canceled in October due to the war.
I have won the Women’s Soccer Cup of West Asia 2022 with the national under-18 team.
A video published on social networks has moved Internet users. In it you can see the young woman on the ground, her face bloody, while a young man kneeling next to her screams in pain.
“My daughter has a brain bleed, her skull is broken,” her mother told AFP. Sanaa Chahrour.
He said that on Saturday his daughter asked him to prepare a dish that she liked.
“An hour later, his friend called me to say he was hurt,” she adds between sobs.
“My daughter is a hero,” he said: “She will get up and play again.”
“He dreamed of playing in another country, he said he wanted to be like Ronaldo and Messi (…),” continued the mother.
“They killed his dream (…). Now everyone is talking about him because he was wounded, in a war he had nothing to do with,” he added.
“The doctors are following him closely,” his father said AFP from the hospital: “But the damage is very serious, and we hope that it will gradually heal.”
“We’re paying the price for something that wasn’t our fault,” she lamented, crying.
At the end of September, Israel launched a massive bombing campaign and ground offensive Lebanon against the pro-Iranian group Hezbollah.
Because cross-border shootings started in October 2023 in the south Lebanonon the border of Israelmore than 3,540 people have died, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the most since the surge in September.
According to the media, many athletes are among the victims. The Lebanese Football Federation He was suspended for all but one game.
The person in charge of the BFA team, Ziad Saadeexpressed in AFP that the player is in an induced coma: “Everyone should pray for him, so that he comes back to us.”
“On the field of play, he is a fighter. He is the link between defense and attack,” explained his coach, Samer Barbariwho went to the hospital with his players to show his support for Celine Haidar.
“She is an extraordinary woman and a great player,” he added. barbarian.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
