FIFA, UEFA under fire for stonewalling global calls to ban Israeli settlement clubs

By Arsalan Abbas

Palestinian football is making waves these days. On Sunday, the Palestinian women’s national team advanced to the West Asian Championship final after defeating Saudi Arabia on penalties.

The Palestinian U-17 team also wrapped up its campaign at the AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers in India’s Ahmedabad city on Sunday with a commanding 3-1 win against Chinese Taipei.

It comes after the Palestinian men’s team last week qualified for the Arab Cup after defeating Libya 4-3 in a penalty shootout, following a goalless draw in regular time.

Despite two years of unrelenting, catastrophic genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and an ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank, football remains alive – offering hope and joy to millions of Palestinians and their supporters around the world.

Nearly 1,000 athletes have been killed since October 7, 2023, most of them young and promising footballers, according to credible, properly vetted data from Palestinian sports bodies.

Reports indicate that at least one athlete has been killed in Gaza every single day since October 7, 2023.

Among those killed is former international footballer Suleiman al-Obaid, known as ‘Palestinian Pele.’ The 41-year-old star was killed in August while waiting for humanitarian aid.

His family is now displaced and facing starvation, like millions of other Palestinians as the Israeli regime, with the backing of its Western patrons, has weaponized aid against the local people.

Nearly 300 sports facilities and stadiums have also been fully or partially destroyed in Gaza amid the relentless bombardment by Israeli regime forces since in the past 25 months.

International sports governing bodies, including the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), have responded with silence – complete radio silence.

In response to global calls to ban Israeli football teams, the two governing bodies have held multiple meetings but taken no concrete action. Rather than imposing sanctions – as they did in the case of the Russia-Ukraine conflict – they have scandalously sided with the aggressor.

Recently, there were reports that UEFA member associations were preparing to meet to discuss a potential ban on Israeli teams in European leagues, but this too proved to be mere eyewash.

Another issue has now come to light – the presence of Israeli football clubs in illegal settlements built on occupied Palestinian land.

Palestinian footballers, clubs, and international advocacy groups are now preparing to file a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the heads of FIFA and UEFA for aiding war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied territories.

According to a Press TV report, the case centers on how FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin allowed clubs to operate from illegal Israeli settlements despite repeated warnings from UN experts and human rights organizations.

The international community widely views Israeli settlements as illegal under international law and the Geneva Conventions due to their construction on occupied Palestinian territory.

It marks the first time the world’s leading football bodies are accused of aiding and abetting war crimes under the Rome Statute of the ICC. The complaint is expected to be filed in the coming weeks, even though the outcome is likely to be on expected lines.

In recent months – particularly in the lead up to World Cup qualifiers – some major human rights organizations called on FIFA and UEFA to suspend the Israeli Football Association until it removes clubs based in illegal settlements.

However, again, there was no action from these football bodies. A classic case of indifference.

Reports indicate there are at least six such clubs based in illegally occupied territories currently playing in Israeli leagues, in violation of international law and FIFA’s own statutes.

Article 64.2 of FIFA’s statutes explicitly states that “member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter’s approval.”

The United Nations and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have repeatedly affirmed that Israel’s presence in the occupied territories must end unconditionally.

In July last year, amid the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion declaring Israel’s presence in the occupied territories unlawful and calling for its immediate end.

It stated that states are obliged “to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the OPT or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory.”

Israel unsurprisingly refused to comply with the 12-month timeline set by a September 2024 UN General Assembly resolution for withdrawal, once again displaying complete disregard for international law and global institutions like a typical rogue regime.

FIFA and UEFA, as the world’s football governing bodies, provide financial support to Israeli teams to play in international and European tournaments, which means they wittingly or unwittingly contribute to illegal settlements and are directly complicit in the worst form of human rights abuses.

Last month, more than 30 legal experts called on UEFA to ban Israel and its clubs from competition due to the genocide in Gaza, where over 70,000 Palestinians have been killed.

They urged UEFA to “fulfill their legal and moral obligations to uphold international law, and move forward with an immediate and complete ban of Israeli football.”

That same month, human rights groups wrote to FIFA Council members, demanding the organization comply with its own Statutes and international law by ending its de facto recognition of Israeli settlement clubs.

“IFA-member football clubs are based on and use land that Israeli authorities unlawfully took from and rendered off-limits to Palestinians, who may not enter settlements unless they have special permits to work as day-laborers, much less participate in football activities,” the letter stated.

In June, a group of legal experts, including two former UN special rapporteurs, wrote to FIFA insisting it was violating international law by allowing matches to be held in the occupied territories.

Addressed to Bruno Chiomento, chairman of FIFA’s governance, audit, and compliance committee, the letter cited “unassailable facts” regarding the illegality of Israeli settlements and called for a complete and unconditional ban on Israeli teams.

Yet despite all this, nothing has been done. Both FIFA and UEFA remain openly biased in favor of Israel, angering football fans and human rights advocates worldwide.

Arsalan Abbas is a London-based writer and sports commentator.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)

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