A striker that once scored against Wycombe Wanderers is now plying his trade for a club whose fans include the leader of an organisation condemned as terrorists across the world.
Lee Erwin, who has represented teams in Scotland, England, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Finland, is currently on the books at Al Ahed, a side that is based in Beirut, Lebanon.
🏴 | Lee Erwin - FC Haka
— Everything Scotland 🏴 (@AboutScotlandd) November 24, 2022
Scottish striker Lee Erwin finished top scorer in Finland this season with FC Haka as he bagged 20 goals in 28 matches.
This earned interest across Europe however Erwin has opted to join Lebanese champions Al Ahed who won the AFC Cup back in 2019. pic.twitter.com/MAneHRbZgP
Numbered among the club’s supporters are members of Hizballah.
Welcome Lee Erwin! 🤝🏻#AlAhedFC pic.twitter.com/tuaFDtX045
— نادي العهد اللبناني (@AlAhedFc) November 5, 2022
The football team’s kit and Hizballah both have yellow as their main colours, and in 2019, the group’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, claimed to be a ‘big fan’ of the side.
READ MORE: 'I don’t want to get carried away' - Ainsworth reflects on Wycombe's win over Derby
In the same year, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed that Al Ahed were a ‘Hizballah team’, following allegations that missile facilities were reportedly hidden in the club’s 2,000-capacity stadium.
The claim was denied by the Lebanese Government.
Final of the AFC Cup today (Asia's Europa League). 4.25, army team from North Korea vs. Al Ahed, Lebanese team with strong links to Hezbollah....
— James Montague (@JamesPiotr) November 4, 2019
Match was supposed to be in DPRK. Still, here's something on what football in North Korea looks likehttps://t.co/1PdSqhFPye
Across the world, 29 separate entities have labelled Hizballah as a terrorist organisation including the UK, US, and EU, whilst Russia, Cuba, North Korea, and China do not.
Erwin’s move to the Middle Eastern outfit at the back end of 2022 came seven years after he scored at Adams Park for Leeds United in a 2-0 victory for the then Championship side.
Taking place in November 2015, the mid-season friendly was arranged after the two clubs had a free weekend of competitive action due to the international break.
Goals from Lee Erwin and Sam Byram secured a 2-0 win for Leeds United in a friendly away at League Two side Wycombe Wanderers. #Lufc
— BBC Sport West Yorkshire (@BBCWYS) November 14, 2015
READ MORE: 'My job is to win games for this club' - Wycombe's tactics in Derby win explained
His strike in the 30th minute set up Steve Evans’ side for the win, but after failing to secure a regular place in the team, which resulted in just 12 appearances and no goals, he was loaned out to Bury and Oldham Athletic respectively.
He would then go to play for Kilmarnock, Ross County, and St Mirren in his native Scotland, Tractor in the IR Iran, and Haka in Finland.
Lebanese "Al Ahed" FC to the "super league"?!
— Fight Against Terrorism Funding -Live and Let Live (@LLL_LiveLetLive) April 21, 2021
JPMorgan Chase & Co, one of the main sponsors of the new "super league" initiative, also serves as a main corresponding bank for Lebanese banks dealing with #Hezbollah's financial institution, Al Qard al Hassan.#SuperLeague ; pic.twitter.com/vERCR4BPGX
Now in Lebanon with Al Ahed, Erwin has scored three goals in four matches for his new club.
This included scoring the winner against Al-Burj in a 1-0 victory on February 12, which has put his side two points off first place in the Lebanese Premier League table.
📷|بالصور إحتفالية الهدف الأول #المركز_الإعلامي#AlAhedFC pic.twitter.com/SldRgf5tms
— نادي العهد اللبناني (@AlAhedFc) February 12, 2023
A Leeds United fan who hails from Buckinghamshire attended that friendly fixture in 2015, and they told the Free Press: "It was nice to see Erwin scoring for Leeds as he hadn’t managed to break into the team at that point.
"It was also a bit surreal to be playing a mid-season friendly during an international break in November but this was the Massimo Cellino era after all."
Other than playing for the team, there is no suggestion that Erwin has any connection with Hizballah.
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