LONDON: Amnesty International urged FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations to suspend the Israeli Football Association until the latter excludes settlers’ clubs in the occupied West Bank from competing in the Israeli leagues.
Agnes Callamard, the secretary-general of Amnesty International, called on Wednesday for the suspension of the IFA as Israeli forces “continue to perpetrate genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip” since late 2023.
The Israeli national team is currently competing in the European qualifiers against Norway and Italy for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in Canada, Mexico, and the US next summer. Additionally, the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv is participating in the Europa League.
UN officials and figures from the football world have increased pressure in September on FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel from international football tournaments, describing it “as a necessary response to address the ongoing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
This week, UEFA has postponed a vote on banning Israel from European football following US President Donald Trump’s plan to address the ongoing war in Gaza.
“Over 800 athletes, players and sports officials are among the more than 65,000 people Israeli forces have killed in a deliberate campaign of wholesale devastation, forced displacement and starvation of civilians (in Gaza),” Callamard wrote in a letter addressed to Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, and Aleksander Ceferin, the president of UEFA.
Amnesty International said that there are six football clubs based in settlements in the West Bank that play in the Israeli leagues. These include two clubs in Ariel settlement, Beitar Givat Zeev Shabi, Beitar Maaleh Adomim, Hapoel Oranit, and Hapoel Jordan Valley, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are deemed illegal under international law following its military occupation of the territory in 1967. Last month, Israel failed to comply with a UN General Assembly resolution to withdraw from the area within 12 months, as instructed by the International Court of Justice, which ruled that Israel’s presence there is “unlawful.”
“At the same time, Israel is brutally expanding its illegal settlements and legitimizing illegal outposts in the West Bank as part of its unlawful occupation of Palestinian Territory. It is nothing short of a disgrace that the IFA is still allowing clubs from these settlements to keep playing in its leagues, after multiple warnings for more than a decade,” Callamard wrote.
Amnesty International said that settlers’ football clubs competing in Israeli leagues violate international law and FIFA’s rules, which state: “Member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter’s approval.”
Suspending the IFA would mean that Israeli national and club teams would be barred from participating in international competitions until it complies with international law and FIFA statutes, according to Amnesty International. The IFA would also lose its membership and voting rights, and neither FIFA nor UEFA would provide any funding.
“There should be no place in football, or indeed in any sport, for clubs based in illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” Callamard added.
“The IFA is shamelessly contributing to Israel’s violations of international law by providing sporting and economic opportunities that help sustain these illegal settlements.”
The Palestinian Football Association filed a formal complaint to FIFA in March 2024 about Israeli violations and has accused FIFA of failing to take action against these violations.
Israeli attacks on Gaza have devastated the football infrastructure and sports facilities, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of athletes, including 69 who participated in Olympic sports.
In August, the football community mourned the loss of Suleiman Al-Obeid, 41, who was killed during an Israeli attack on people waiting for humanitarian aid. Al-Obeid earned the nickname “the Palestinian Pele” due to his impressive career, in which he scored over 100 goals.
