NYON, Switzerland (Kashmir English): More than 70 athletes have joined rights groups in calling on UEFA to ban Israel from football as pressure rises on the European governing body to take action against the country over rights violations.
Football governing bodies; UEFA and FIFA have faced repeated calls to act over the Gaza war, with Palestinian officials pressing for Israel to be suspended from world football.
The European governing body, UEFA, considered holding a vote in October this year on whether to suspend Israel from the competitions over the war in Gaza, but the move was paused after a US-brokered ceasefire took effect on Oct 10.
On Tuesday, more than 70 elite athletes signed a letter and sent to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin organised on behalf of the campaign groups Game Over Israel and Athletes 4 Peace.
According to the Middle East Eye, the signatories sought that Israel be suspended to ensure that UEFA and the sporting community it governs “does not participate in the normalisation of genocide, apartheid, and crimes against humanity”.
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.
“No shared venue should welcome Israel”
“No shared venue, stage, or arena in international civil society should welcome a regime that commits genocide, apartheid, and other crimes against humanity,” read the letter, penned by Game Over Israel.
“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 participation of teams from illegal settlements [in occupied Palestine] in Israeli football leagues is a breach of fundamental principles of international law,” the letter stated.
“UEFA’s relationship with the IFA [Israel Football Association] — 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.”
Ashish Prashar, campaign director of Game Over Israel, said: “For President Ceferin to pause his vote to suspend Israel from European football over a peace plan in name only is either grossly naïve or purposefully blind.”
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.
Earlier this month, members of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) voted overwhelmingly, requesting its board that UEFA immediately suspend Israel from European competitions.
Israel has denied committing genocide and described the report as scandalous.
