Football Player Lamine Yamal and the Palestinian Flag

Introduction

Lamine Yamal is a player for FC Barcelona. He showed a Palestinian flag. Now, leaders from Israel and Spain are angry.

Main Body

On Monday, many people went to a big party in Barcelona. Lamine Yamal held a Palestinian flag in a car. He also put photos of the flag on Instagram. Israel Katz is a minister in Israel. He says the flag is bad. He says it brings hate to Jewish people. He wants FC Barcelona to say the flag was wrong. Pedro Sánchez is the leader of Spain. He says Yamal is okay. He says many people in Spain like Palestine. The coach, Hansi Flick, told Yamal to focus on the party, not politics.

Conclusion

Israel and Spain still disagree. Lamine Yamal is now getting ready for the World Cup.

Learning

🚩 The "Who says what" Pattern

In this story, we see a pattern for reporting opinions. This is a key skill for A2 English.

The Pattern: [Person] + says + [Opinion/Fact]

Examples from the text:

  • Israel Katz → says → the flag is bad.
  • Pedro Sánchez → says → Yamal is okay.

Simple Tip: When you want to tell someone what another person thinks, just use says. It doesn't matter if the person is a leader or a friend.


Quick Word Swap Instead of says, you can sometimes use told if there is a listener:

  • Hansi Flick → told → Yamal (the listener) → to focus on the party.

Summary for you:

  • Someone speaks \rightarrow says \rightarrow something.
  • Someone speaks \rightarrow told \rightarrow someone \rightarrow something.

Vocabulary Learning

player (n.)
someone who plays a sport
Example:The player scored a goal.
flag (n.)
a piece of cloth with a design used as a symbol
Example:The flag waves in the wind.
party (n.)
a social gathering
Example:They had a party for the birthday.
car (n.)
a vehicle with four wheels
Example:He drives a blue car.
photos (n.)
pictures taken with a camera
Example:She likes to share photos online.
minister (n.)
a person in charge of a government department
Example:The minister announced new rules.
hate (v.)
to feel strong dislike
Example:I hate loud noises.
leader (n.)
a person who leads a group
Example:The leader spoke to the crowd.
coach (n.)
a person who trains athletes
Example:The coach gave good advice.
focus (v.)
to concentrate on something
Example:Please focus on your homework.
politics (n.)
the activities of governments and political decisions
Example:They discuss politics at dinner.
disagree (v.)
to have a different opinion
Example:We disagree about the best route.
ready (adj.)
prepared for something
Example:She is ready for the test.
world cup (n.)
a large international sports competition
Example:The world cup is in Qatar.