Video purportedly shows ex-Angel City FC player flashing Nazi salute at pro-Israel rally in Beverly Hills
Angel City FC has condemned the “recent actions and statements†of a former player who appears to be captured in a video making a Nazi salute toward pro-Israel demonstrators Sunday in Beverly Hills.
Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel is shown shouting “Heil Hitler!†and giving the Sieg Heil salute out of the passenger side window of a car driven by a man, according to a video posted on X on Monday by the watchdog group StopAntisemitism.
Members of the pro-Israel crowd responded with, “Shame on you!â€
The StopAntisemitism group asked for help in identifying the two people in the vehicle. That evening, it posted an update identifying the woman as “Stefany Neyra.â€
A spokesperson for StopAntisemitism told The Times via email that the information was sent to the organization by a confidential source.
Paul Kessler, a pro-Israel counter-protester, died hours after a confrontation with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator. Officials have identified a suspect, but no one has been arrested.
Ferrer Van Ginkel seems to have gone by the name Stefany C. Neyra on her social media accounts, which have since been deactivated. StopAntisemitism posted a screenshot of an Instagram account with the Neyra name and the handle @stefvangi21 that included photos that appear to be of Ferrer Van Ginkel. She could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Beverly Hills Police Department said in an email to The Times on Thursday morning that the incident is being reviewed.
“The rally did take place on Sunday November 5th, 2023, in the City of Beverly Hills. Our Department is aware of the video / incident that occurred during that rally,†Sgt. Jeffrey Newman wrote. “The incident is currently being reviewed, and I do not want to speculate on further information at this time. Our Department respects the importance of protected speech, but will also actively investigate any criminal acts that may have occurred.â€
As tensions over the Israel-Hamas war continue to intensify in the U.S., Angel City FC attempted to distance itself from Ferrer Van Ginkel with a post on X on Monday night.
“Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel (stefvangi21) does not play for Angel City Football Club, nor has she been affiliated with the club since November 2022,†the club wrote. “We condemn her recent actions and statements.â€
Tensions reached a boiling point after the Hamas attacks screening ended, with pepper spray and punches flying. At least one person was detained by police.
In response to further questions for this article, Angel City FC referred The Times back to that statement.
Ferrer Van Ginkel posted a video to Instagram on Monday night, before the account was deactivated, that appeared to address the incident at the rally. In the clip, Ferrer Van Ginkel sits silently next to a man, who offers an apology on behalf of both of them.
“I know we have approached the situation with hate and made it worse with our actions,†the man says in the video. “We acted childish and it’s the wrong way to approach any situation that we live in. All we can do is become better, learn a lesson from this. We cannot change the past. And we just wanted to apologize and ask for you guys to understand and stop the hate. We just wanna spread love from now on. We understand we did the wrong thing.â€
Ferrer Van Ginkel, 25, grew up in Brazil, appeared in a British reality show and played with Tigres of Mexico’s Liga MX Femenil before playing for Angel City during its inaugural season in 2022. Her contract was not renewed after that campaign, and she does not seem to have played professionally since then.
Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel and DiDi Haracic have overcome huge obstacles in their quest to become NWSL players with Angel City FC.
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