According to a legal analysis by specialist lawyers in international law and human rights, Israel should be prohibited from participating in any football-related activities due to their violation of FIFA’s statutes during the conflict in Gaza.
In May, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) submitted a proposal to suspend Israel and FIFA has promised to address this issue at an extraordinary meeting of its council in July. The Asian Football Confederation also supports taking action against Israel, and PFA President Jibril Al-Rajoub argues that FIFA cannot remain apathetic towards the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
The report, co-written by Attorney Max du Plessis and Sarah Pudifin-Jones, who were approached by the social justice organisation Eko, states that Israel’s actions have undermined FIFA’s objectives and violated internationally recognised human rights. It also accuses Israel of discrimination against Palestinians based on race, national origin, and birth, which goes against FIFA’s Article 4(1).
The report argues that Israel’s conduct warrants censure, as seen in previous cases where FIFA suspended or expelled member associations for similar violations of its objectives and human rights. The Palestinian proposal accuses the Israel Football Association (IFA) of being complicit in the Israeli government’s violations of international law and discrimination against Arab players, which the IFA denies.
Eko’s petition, which calls for FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, and sporting federations to ban Israel from international sport, has received over 380,000 signatures. Reuters has reached out to FIFA for a statement. In the past, when the PFA has brought motions to suspend Israel, FIFA did not impose sanctions and declared the matter closed in 2017, unless there were changes in the legal or de facto framework.
However, the report argues that recent developments have created a new legal framework that requires FIFA’s intervention. Al-Rajoub has cited previous examples at the FIFA Congress, and the report claims that suspending Israel would align with FIFA’s past decisions to suspend or expel member associations for violating its objectives.
In 1961, the Football Association of South Africa was suspended due to the country’s apartheid policy, and Yugoslavia was banned in 1992 after United Nations sanctions for the Serb-dominated government’s aggression in the Balkans. Most recently, in 2022, both FIFA and its European counterpart UEFA acted quickly to suspend Russian teams from their competitions after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
While Israel denies accusations of committing genocide against Palestinians, critics argue otherwise. Israel claims their actions are self-defence to prevent another attack like the one on Oct. 7, though the International Court of Justice has ordered them to take action to prevent acts of genocide.
According to Israeli tallies, Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in the cross-border raid into southern Israel on Oct. 7. In retaliation, Israel has taken military action in Gaza, resulting in the death of more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to medical authorities in Gaza.
