Luca Zidane targeted by a wave of Islamophobic messages after his Umrah in Mecca

The far-right views Luca Zidane’s spiritual journey to Mecca in a negative light. Injured, he took advantage of Algeria’s match in Saudi Arabia to travel to the holy city of Islam. On Instagram, he posted a selfie showing him performing the Umrah. Since then, messages with Islamophobic connotations have been pouring in on social media. Unlike the posts of many footballers, including Paul Pogba and Achraf Hakimi, about their participation in the same ritual in previous years, that of Zinedine Zidane’s son is controversial.

And for good reason, he has been the target of the far-right since the beginning of October, notably because of his choice to play for the Algerian national team, with whom he will be able to compete in the 2026 World Cup at the end of the season. "It’s a source of pride for me and I will give 100% to make the Algerian people proud [...] It’s my country, my country of origin and (that) of my grandparents," Luca had said after his first selection.