More than 70 athletes call on UEFA to ban Israel over rights abuses

Dozens of athletes have joined rights groups in calling for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to suspend Israel due to rights abuses against Palestinians.In a letter delivered to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin on Tuesday, Athletes for Peace, a group that includes more than 70 sports professionals, backed a call for the governing body to sever ties with the Israel Football Association (IFA).Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Irish football body overwhelmingly backs call for Israel’s ouster from UEFAlist 2 of 3Palestinian journalist Mustafa Ayyash to be extradited to Austrialist 3 of 3Israeli forces kill three in Gaza as settlers attack in occupied West Bankend of list“No shared venue, stage, or arena in international civil society should welcome a regime that commits genocide, apartheid, and other crimes against humanity,” the letter, penned by Game Over Israel, read.“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.”The athletes who endorsed the call include French World Cup winner Paul Pogba, Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi, Moroccan player Hakim Ziyech and Spanish winger Adama Traore.Human rights advocacy groups, including the Hind Rajab Foundation and the Gaza Tribunal, also signed the letter.The petition marks a continuation of a campaign demanding that UEFA ban Israel from its events, citing atrocities committed during its war on Gaza.In September, Turkish Football Federation president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu also backed the call for suspending Israel from European football. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) passed a similar resolution earlier this month.Although a United States-brokered ceasefire nominally ended the Israeli assault on Gaza last month, Israel has continued to restrict aid and kill Palestinians in the territory.Leading rights groups and United Nations investigators have described Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide. As many as 69,182 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli assault, including 421 footballers.The war destroyed the sport’s infrastructure in Gaza, including stadiums and training facilities.Moreover, Israel continues to entrench its occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, imposing a regime that the International Court of Justice says is “tantamount to the crime of apartheid”.The rights groups’ letter argued that Israel has used football to legitimise its occupation in those areas.The country, for example, allows clubs from illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank to participate in its professional leagues, in an apparent violation of FIFA rules.“The participation of teams from illegal settlements in Israeli football leagues is a breach of fundamental principles of international law,” Tuesday’s letter read.“UEFA’s relationship with the IFA – providing funding and allowing Israeli teams to play in international tournaments – means that UEFA may also be facilitating these violations and may themselves be accountable.”Israeli clubs’ participation in European football competitions has been a source of debate and controversy over the past two years.Last year, clashes between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv FC fans broke out in Amsterdam after Israeli hooligans were heard chanting “death to the Arabs”, attacking taxi drivers and removing Palestinian flags from the walls of private homes.In October, a ban on visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in a Europa League game against Aston Villa sparked a political crisis in the United Kingdom, as well as accusations of anti-Semitism.“This decision is based on current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Amsterdam,” the West Midlands Police said in a statement earlier this month.But the government of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was quick to oppose the police’s decision and dismiss the security considerations behind it, sparking criticism from Palestinian rights advocates.“We will not tolerate anti-Semitism on our streets,” Starmer said in a social media post in response to the ban.“The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”Maccabi Tel-Aviv, which sits in 34th place in the Europa League standings with one point from four games, ended up losing the match 2-0 to Aston Villa last week.Tuesday’s letter to UEFA stressed that banning a country that violates international law would not be unprecedented; it is, in fact, the norm.“It is well-known that football governance bodies, such as UEFA, have historically suspended states from football for egregious violations of international law – apartheid South Africa, post-war Germany, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and more recently, Russia,” it said.“We urge you to follow international law and moral precedent and suspend Israel immediately.”