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Mohammad Abu Fani
Israeli footballer (born 1998) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Mohammad Abu Fani (or Mohamad Abo-Fani,[2][3] Arabic: مُحَمَّد أَبُو فَانِيّ, Hebrew: מוחמד אבו פאני; born 27 April 1998) is an Israeli-Arab professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hungarian club Ferencváros and the Israel national team.
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Early life
Abu Fani was born in Kafr Qara, Israel, to a Muslim-Arab family. His father Sami Abu Fani, a former local footballer, supported Mohammad's football career from a young age. He has two sisters, Rawan and Lareen.[citation needed]
Club career
Maccabi Haifa
On 13 May 2017, Abu Fani made his debut for Maccabi Haifa in a 1–0 loss to Bnei Sakhnin, coming in as a substitute at the 46th minute.[4] At youth level, he was part of the Maccabi Haifa U-21 team which won two consecutive championships, in 2015–16 and 2016–17, as well as reaching the UEFA Youth League play off stage.[5]
Ferencváros
On 15 June 2023, Abu Fani signed for four years for Ferencváros.[6]
On 20 April 2024, the Ferencváros–Kisvárda tie ended with a goalless draw at the Groupama Aréna on the 29th match day of the 2023–24 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season[7] which meant that Ferencváros won their 35th championship.[8][9]
On 15 May 2024, Ferencváros were defeated by Paks 2–0 in the 2024 Magyar Kupa Final at the Puskás Aréna.[10][11]
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International career
Since youth, Abu Fani played for both the under-19 and the under-21 national teams of Israel, appearing in 18 matches, and scoring three goals for the U19s.[12]
He made his senior debut for Israel on 8 October 2020 in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs away match against Scotland.[13]
Abu Fani has faced Islamophobic taunts from far-right Israeli football hooligans despite playing for the national team. During his team's 2-1 victory over Andorra at a Euro 2024 tournament qualifier, Abu Fani was booed and called a "terrorist"[14] by far-right fans of Beitar Jerusalem F.C. After the incident, Abu Fani's father said "When the opposing team swears at you, it’s a sign you’re a good player. When it comes from your fans, it hurts."[15]
On 9 September 2024, Abu Fani scored his first senior international goal against Italy in the UEFA Nations League.[16] A month later in the return match against Italy, Abu Fani scored an "Olimpico" goal directly from the corner kick.
Career statistics
Honours
Maccabi Haifa
References
External links
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