Egyptian player Mohamed Aboutreika received a wave of sympathy on Sunday after being warned by the Confederation of African Football for displaying a T-shirt in support of Gaza.
The Al-Ahly midfielder displayed a T-shirt saying "sympathy with Gaza" after scoring during the Pharaohs' 3-0 victory against Sudan in a Group C game played in Kumasi on Friday evening.
The referee showed him a yellow card during the game and the confederation said it had warned him, as the displaying of political slogans was against the regulations of football's governing body Fifa.
The confederation was inundated with emails from journalists expressing their support for Aboutreika's actions.
"He is a good player and he belongs to all Arab and Muslim nations, and he reflected what is in our hearts," Ahmed Gamal wrote.
"We are asking you, in the name of human rights, to co-operate with us and support him.
"Please do not even think about any suspension for him, because your tournament will be fake and the whole Muslim world is supporting him. Please don't make that mistake. We are all sympathising with Gaza."
Earlier this week, tens of thousands of Palestinians swarmed into Egypt after militants had broken down parts of the Gaza-Egypt border fence.
They had wanted to stock up on food and fuel after the Israeli blockade of Gaza. - Sapa-DPA