See the photo that shows the OTHER side of the scandal over NRL stars giving fans the 'Arab middle finger' as club's supporters are branded hypocrites

Daily Mail​

9 hours ago

Canterbury have been branded 'hypocrites' after it was revealed on Monday that the footy club has complained to the NRL about several unsavoury gestures that Wests Tigers players made to Bulldogs supporters on Sunday afternoon.
A week after their 34-point drubbing by Penrith, Benji Marshall's side stunned the high-flying Bulldogs at a rain-soaked CommBank Stadium, with Jeral Skelton crossing the tryline twice to help his side seal a huge 28-14 win.
However, the result has been soured by controversy after it was revealed that the NRL's Integrity Unit is now investigating the behaviour of multiple Tigers players who made an apparent offensive gesture with their hands towards Bulldogs fans, as they celebrated Samuela Fainu's try in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Jarome Luai had popped off a pass to Fainu, who bounced off multiple Canterbury defenders, before crashing over for the final try of the game. His team-mates quickly surrounded him to celebrate, but fans noticed that both Fainu and centre Brent Naden had appeared to show Doggies fans a symbol with their hands, which is known as 'the Khod' or a 'Khawd'.
The gesture is performed by lowering the middle finger down towards one's palm. In Arabic, Lebanese and other communities, the gesture is considered to be similar to flipping one's middle finger up at another person.
The phrase 'Khod' itself has several meanings. In Arabic, its literal meaning is 'take' and some use the gesture along with the phrase to say 'take this'.
Canterbury fans have been branded 'hypocrites' after this image of several fans appearing to perform a 'khod' gesture was published online. It came after the Bulldogs had complained to the NRL over gestures Wests Tigers players had made to the club's supporters on Sunday
'What Naden did is the Lebanese version of the middle finger,' one wrote on social media.
A TikTok of Naden performing the 'Khod' after the match has also gone viral. According to AAP, the footy player, 29, had sent a video of himself performing the 'Khod' to a friend. The clip was later leaked on social media. During the video, Naden is overheard saying: 'F***ing Dogs.'
Canterbury officials have also contacted the Tigers over the incident, which has left fans divided online, with some branding it a 'disgrace'.
'This is disrespectful and completely worth being looked at by the NRL. If they flipped the bird, which is what this action actually means, they'd be getting smashed for it. There is no difference. Pull your players' heads in @WestsTigers,' one wrote on X.
'What the Tigers did is the equivalent of flipping the bird to 9-year-old kids in the stands. Absolute heroes those morons are,' another added.
But others on social media have hit back at the Bulldogs and their fans after several X users published an image of a group of Canterbury supporters also performing the same gesture, claiming that there was a double standard.
The image appears to have been published last week, after the Bulldogs sealed a 42-4 victory against Manly at the Allianz Stadium. Eight Canterbury supporters are seen in the image with the fans holding up their hands while lowering their middle fingers.
In response to an article written by The Sydney Morning Herald's Michael Chammas reporting the Bulldogs' complaints, one fan published the image, adding: 'Weird thing to be offended about when they do it.'
Another added: 'But it's OK for them.'
'My fascination with this blowing up for the Wests Tigers is the NRL, V'landys and Abdo, Bulldogs CEO Gus Gould, Dogs players, their fans and sponsors all approved these signs as part of the best fans in the NRL but now it's offensive? A bit hypocritical perhaps?' another wrote.
One fan said: 'The Canterbury Bankstown 'can give but can't take it' Bulldogs.'
Despite the blow-up on social media, one social media user responded by saying that the gesture used by the fans was meant to be taken as a joke.
'For what it's worth, as an Arab, I don't find this offensive (don't try to tell me how I SHOULD feel). I've only ever seen it used as a joke, kind of like the pic below. Context is important,' the X user wrote.
Other fans on social media enjoyed the Tigers' celebrations, with NRL superfan Jean-Claude Bitar, reacting to the try celebrations, stating: 'This is the greatest try celebration and it's not even try July, it is wet August … Keep giving them the 'Khod', up the f***ing Tigers, mate.'
Bitar had previously published a video telling fans how to perform the gesture.
The Bulldogs are understood to have a large Arabic fanbase.
Fainu (centre) crashed over in the dying minutes of the match to help the Tigers seal a 28-14 victory against the Bulldogs, with the match made spicier by the fact former Wests star Lachlan Galvin's stunning defection to Canterbury earlier this year
Meanwhile, the Tigers also have a large number of players from Lebanese backgrounds, including Adam Doueihi and Alex Twal.
The Sydney Morning Herald claims that the Bulldogs have received multiple complaints from fans over the gesture.
The incident also appears to have shocked former Wallabies and Leicester Tigers coach Michael Cheika, who is also the coach of the Lebanese rugby union team and is of Lebanese descent.
'I was pretty shocked when I was watching the game and saw what was going on after that try – I knew what was going on straight away,' Cheika told The Sydney Morning Herald.
'It was very culturally insensitive. They knew what it meant because there were Lebanese players in the team. And they chose to do it in front of kids. They were playing so well, they should have been celebrating with their teammates, not abusing people in the crowd.
'It's a pretty offensive gesture in our culture. It's not cool. The best way to get into the opposition supporters is by doing it on the scoreboard.
'Considering one of the main shows was at Alex Twal's house during the week, filming a Lebanese barbecue, and promoting the culture and the game, and then to do that … unfortunately, it was ignorant, and I didn't like it.'
Emotions were already running high at the CommBank Stadium as young half-back Lachlan Galvin returned to face off against his former club, following his controversial and unceremonious exit earlier on this season.
The Tigers, though, secured a huge 28-14 victory against the Bulldogs, stopping Cameron Ciraldo's premiership hopefuls from going to the top of the NRL ladder
Galvin was booed by Tigers fans each time he got his hand on the footy during the tense afternoon, and the 20-year-old struggled to have a big impact on the game.
AAP also reports that a fan had fiercely abused Galvin on the footy pitch prior to Sunday's kick-off.
Bulldogs boss Cameron Ciraldo explained after the match that Galvin had shut out the comments.
'Nothing much flusters him. I thought he went out there; he did his job today. I don't think it rattled him that much. It's just, we got beaten as a team,' Ciraldo said.