GENEVA: Swiss politicians on Wednesday argued that UEFA’s privileged tax status should be revoked until European football’s governing body ends what critics described as its complicity in the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.
Local and national parliamentarians issued a statement calling for a vote on the issue, citing a Jul. 19, 2024, ruling by the International Court of Justice that found Israel was illegally occupying Palestinian land, including in the West Bank.
The lawmakers argue that since the Israeli Football Association, which fields teams that play on that occupied land, is a member of UEFA, the legal standing of the governing body and its associated tax advantages in Switzerland, where it has its headquarters, are in question.
They said that the tax relief granted to UEFA means that instead of benefiting from that revenue, Swiss citizens are effectively funding illegal activities of the Israeli Football Association.
“As an international federation, (UEFA) has long benefited, despite its significant commercial activity, from a tax exemption granted specifically because international sports federations play an important role in promoting peace and combating racism and discrimination,” they said in the statement.
“UEFA has long placed these concerns at the heart of its decisions. Its commitment to peace, for example, was among the motivations cited in support of sanctions adopted by the organization following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. However, it is clear that this objective is not being pursued today.”
Raphael Mahaim, a member of the Swiss National Council, said: “UEFA enjoys preferential tax treatment in Switzerland. This comes with certain obligations, including promoting the values of peace.
“A double standard is unacceptable. While UEFA has rightly chosen to sanction Russian teams, it has taken no action or measures against Israel to date.”
Craig Mokhiber, an international human rights lawyer and former director of the UN’s human rights office in New York, said: “On Dec. 10 (International Human Rights Day) Swiss and cantonal authorities started the debate on the continuation of UEFA’s privileged tax status.
“That status should be revoked until UEFA ends its complicity in the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.”
Swiss authorities should know that their international reputation as a leading proponent of humanitarian law is itself on trial in this process, he added.
Theophile Schenker, a member of the Cantonal Parliament of Vaud, the canton in which UEFA’s headquarters is located, said: “UEFA must choose: either it genuinely acts to promote peace and can benefit from the advantages it offers, or it completely abandons this objective and its tax exemption.
“In the first case, it cannot remain passive when the IFA condones illegal and discriminatory practices, which are contrary to sporting values.”
Ashish Prashar, a former adviser to the Middle East Peace Envoy, and campaign director for the Game Over Israel pressure group, said: “UEFA is at the forefront of funding and normalizing the apartheid and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian territories, by continuing to provide a subsidy and allowing the IFA to be a member.
“This is money that could be going into the Swiss coffers; instead, the public is funding the illegal activities of the IFA.”
Prashar said that the simple solution for UEFA and its president, if they truly believe in international law, national law and the promotion of peace, would be to suspend Israel’s membership of the organization.
Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said UEFA cannot claim to promote peace through football while shielding a country that fields five teams in occupied Palestinian territory, and is responsible for the genocide of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
“For decades, Israel’s human rights abuses have been thoroughly documented, yet UEFA continues to carve out an exception that no other nation enjoys,” he said.
“The actions of a government always carry consequences for its citizens; that rule applies to every country except Israel. Enough is enough. UEFA must remove Israel from the league or accept the consequences of protecting impunity.
“In this dark moment in history, accountability is the only path forward.”