LONDON: Athletes 4 Peace, a group of 70 plus athletes, have co-signed a letter to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin with #GameOverIsrael, the Gaza Tribunal and the Hind Rajab Foundation demanding that he follow through on the legal and moral responsibilities inherent in his role and immediately suspend Israel from European football.
The signatories argue, “No shared venue, stage, or arena in international civil society should welcome a regime that commits genocide, apartheid, and other crimes against humanity. Israel’s continued impunity for such crimes will only be ended by the weight of collective conscientious action, including measures to block their entry to sporting or cultural events and activities.”
They address Aleksander Ceferin directly with his own words on football, “Football belongs to everyone” and warn that he risks severing football from its heart and soul – humanity – by allowing those who would destroy their own humanity and that of others entry into the sport.
International Human Rights Lawyers and former UN Human Rights Director Craig Mokhiber said: “UEFA action is stalled behind the smokescreen of a fake ‘ceasefire’ and sham ‘peace process.’ But neither the genocide nor apartheid have ended. UEFA must correct their course immediately and suspend Israel from European football. With each passing day, UEFA’s complicity grows.”
Former Adviser to the Middle East Peace Envoy and Campaign Director for Game Over Israel Ashish Prashar added: “For President Ceferin to pause his vote to suspend Israel from European football over a peace plan in name only, is either grossly naive, or purposefully blind.”
#GameOverIsrael was launched on September 16 with a billboard in Times Square, calling on football federations to boycott Israel.
Athletes 4 Peace are a united voice of sports professionals from around the world, standing for justice, fairness, and humanity in sport.
Gaza Tribunal is a consortium of humanitarian law and human rights experts whose aim it is to awaken civil society to its responsibility and opportunity to stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Hind Rajab Foundation is a branch of the March 30 Movement mainly dedicated to the quest for justice in response to the crimes against humanity, war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated by the Israeli state against Palestinians. The foundation honors the memory of Hind Rajab and all those who have perished or suffered during Israel’s war on Gaza.
