Israel should be kicked out of international football in reaction to the “unfolding genocide” in Gaza, a panel of experts appointed by the U.N. said Tuesday.
“Sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual,” said the group of eight human rights experts in a press release.
“Sporting bodies must not turn a blind eye to grave human rights violations, especially when their platforms are used to normalise injustices,” they added, noting that football’s governing bodies such as UEFA and FIFA are bound by the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Those associations must comply with their obligations not to provide “aid or assistance that would help maintain the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the panel said.
Speaking to POLITICO earlier this month, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said he didn’t believe teams should face competition bans because of the actions of political leaders.
The U.N. experts said countries hosting international organizations, holding competitions, or taking part in sporting events with Israel cannot stay neutral when faced with genocide.
“We are clear that the boycott must be addressed to the State of Israel and not to individual players … National teams representing States that commit massive human rights violations can and should be suspended, as has happened in the past,” they said.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has recently led calls for Israel to be banned from sporting and cultural events, following a sustained campaign against the presence of an Israeli team at a multi-stage cycling race in Spain.
“Why was Russia expelled [from global sporting events] after the invasion of Ukraine, but Israel allowed to remain after the invasion of Gaza?” Sánchez asked rhetorically during a meeting of Socialist Party lawmakers in the Spanish parliament.
Russia’s international football teams were kicked out of major international tournaments following the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The U.N. independent commission of inquiry concluded in a report last week that Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip. Israel rejected those findings, with the country’s government saying its offensive in Gaza is aimed at destroying Hamas and freeing the Israeli hostages held by the militant group.
In response to the violence, multiple European countries, spearheaded by France, recognized Palestinian statehood at Monday’s U.N. General Assembly.
Israel’s men’s football team is facing an uphill battle to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, with Norway taking their qualification group by storm and Italy favorites to secure a second place playoff berth. The women’s team has never qualified for a major international tournament.
The post Suspend Israel from international football over ‘unfolding genocide,’ UN experts say appeared first on Politico.
