UN experts call for FIFA and UEFA to expel Israel from global sporting events

On Tuesday 23 September, United Nations (UN) experts called on FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel’s participation in international competitions due to the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

The experts said in a statement that international sports bodies should not ignore gross human rights violations. It noted that suspending the membership of national teams has been done before for countries that committed similar violations. They recalled that the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 26 January 2024 confirmed the obligations of every state to confront the crime of genocide.

UN FIFA and UEFA: call for Israel’s suspension from international football events

The statement added:

Sport should reject the idea that business as usual can continue, and its institutions should not allow their platforms to be used to normalize injustice.” The experts called on FIFA and UEFA to suspend the Israeli national team’s membership, demanding that FIFA stop what they described as “legitimizing the illegal situation resulting from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

In this context, Times Square in New York witnessed the launch of a new campaign on Wednesday 17 September under the slogan #GameOverIsrael. Via a huge billboard, the campaign called on the football associations of Belgium, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland, and Spain to boycott the Israeli national team. It demanded they prevent Israeli players from participating in local competitions, in protest against the ongoing attacks in Gaza.

Last January, the ICJ issued provisional orders for Israel to take measures to prevent genocide in Gaza. The orders also called for an end to direct incitement to it. The ICJ rejected Tel Aviv’s request to dismiss the case brought against it by South Africa.

In August, the UN rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, called on the UEFA to expel Israel from its competitions.

Israel murdering Palestinian athletes

Last Thursday, the Palestinian Football Association called for the suspension of Israeli teams and players from participating in various international competitions until the genocide in Gaza ends. According to a previous statement by the federation, 774 Palestinian athletes and scouts have been killed since October 2023. This includes 355 soccer players, 277 members of sports federations, and 142 scouts, in addition to 119 missing persons.

According to official Palestinian data, since 7 October 2023, Israel, with US support, has committed genocide in Gaza, resulting in 65,382 martyrs and 166,985 wounded. Most of them are children and women. In addition to this, Israel’s engineered famine has claimed the lives of 442 Palestinians, including 147 children.

Featured image via the Canary