FIFA refusal to act over Israeli clubs based in illegal settlements flouts international law

FIFA has announced that no action will be taken against the Israeli Football Association (IFA) over the participation of clubs based in illegal settlements in Israel’s leagues.

In March 2024, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) called for the exclusion of settlement clubs. There are at least six clubs based in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) currently playing in Israeli leagues.

However, in its response on 19 March 2026, the football governing body said FIFA would not take action, declaring that the “legal status of the West Bank remains an unresolved and highly complex matter under public international law”.

This is in contradiction with Article 64.2 of FIFA’s statutes, which states that:

Member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter’s approval.

FIFA’s pattern of hypocrisy

Steve Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International, said:

By refusing to take action against clubs based in Israeli settlements, FIFA has failed to enforce its own rules and is blatantly flouting international law. FIFA had a clear opportunity to stand up for Palestinians’ rights and international law – with this decision it has shamefully chosen to abandon both.

The International Court of Justice has unambiguously declared that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful, that settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) are illegal and that Israel’s presence in the OPT must rapidly end. FIFA’s own statutes are clear that its members cannot play games in the territory of another association without permission.

By continuing to condone the presence of clubs based in illegal settlements in the OPT in Israel’s league, the Israeli Football Association is indirectly legitimizing Israel’s unlawful occupation and its severe human rights violations against Palestinians, including the crime against humanity of apartheid. FIFA must not continue to ignore the International Court of Justice’s 2024 Advisory Opinion. FIFA has an unequivocal responsibility to act. It must also ensure full transparency and publish the legal advice FIFA received on this matter and provide the full rationale for its unjust decision.

Other human rights organisations have previously put pressure on FIFA to act in accordance with its own statutes.

The governing body has been swift to act in suspending the participation of other nations, like Russia, from international sporting events. Israel remains an exception to the rule.

Fines without Exclusions

In the same complaint submitted in March 2024, the PFA called for sanctions against the IFA over anti-Palestinian racism in Israeli football.

FIFA’s disciplinary committee have now fined the IFA 150,000 Swiss francs ($190,700) for “multiple breaches” of its anti-discrimination obligations. The Canary’s Alaa Shamali called the penalties “shockingly light.”

FIFA and UEFA have both provided funding for the IFA, meaning they may also be contributing to the expansion of illegal settlements, and therefore Israel’s human rights violations.

Featured image via the Canary