FIFA delays decision as pressure mounts to sanction Israel
An independent legal analysis by human rights lawyers concluded that Israel should be banned from international football for violating FIFA's statutes amid the war in Gaza.
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Just days ahead of a crucial ruling to determine whether Israel should be suspended from football-related activities, FIFA, the sport’s governing body, has once again postponed its decision on the matter.
“Following requests for extension from both parties to submit their respective positions, duly granted by FIFA, more time is needed to conclude this process with due care and completeness,” FIFA announced in a statement, adding that it would announce its ruling no later than Aug. 31.
The delay spares FIFA a decision that could have potentially resulted in Israel’s football team being banned from the men’s tournament at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
Several months ago, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) submitted a proposal to sanction Israel on the grounds of human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. Since then, several federations and NGOs have filed submissions to FIFA in support of the PFA’s bid, adding to the mounting pressure for the governing body to take action.
The case to sanction Israel
Among the organizations that have filed submissions in support of the PFA is Ekō, a global campaigning group with 22 million members, which commissioned an independent legal analysis with assistance from leading human rights lawyers on international law.
Attorney Max du Plessis, who was part of the case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice, was among the lawyers who co-wrote the analysis.
“There can be no doubt that Israel’s conduct in Palestine has undermined, and continues to undermine, FIFA’s objectives,” read the report, which was viewed by Sports Politika.
“Israel has violated the internationally recognized human rights of Palestinians, contrary to Article 3. It has discriminated and continues to discriminate against Palestinians on the basis of race, national origin and birth in direct contravention of Article 4(1). Its conduct undermines the humanitarian objectives described in Article 5.1(b).
“Israel’s conduct demands censure, in line with the position adopted by FIFA in relation to similar egregious violations of its objectives and internationally recognized human rights.”
The report argued that, although FIFA has previously denied the PFA motions to suspend Israel, developments since October, including nine months of death and destruction, have brought about a “new legal framework that necessitates FIFA's intervention".
Previously, PFA motions to sanction Israel focused on six football clubs based in Israel's illegal West Bank settlements, while the current issue “arises from Israel’s ongoing violations of international humanitarian and international human rights law, and discrimination and destruction within the Gaza Strip from 7 October 2023…” This, coupled with the findings issued by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, among others, further emphasizes these differences.
“FIFA is not only empowered to act against the Israel Football Association, but that it must do so if its own Statutes are to have meaning and authority in the international sphere, and if it is to avoid acting ‘selectively’ against those who are violating international standards,” read the report.
Pressure mounts from other NGOS
FairSquare, a non-profit organization that combines research and advocacy to promote systemic change and stop human rights abuses, also filed its own submission in support of the PFA’s proposal to sanction Israel. The 23-page document outlines the case for FIFA to sanction the Israel Football Association (IFA), citing “multiple grounds that should give FIFA cause to act, many of which predate Israel’s war in Gaza since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.”
“FIFA has very clear grounds to sanction the IFA and a statutory responsibility to do so,” read the submission. “Given the IFA’s clear violations of numerous FIFA statutes, Israel’s obstruction of FIFA’s objectives in Palestine, and the gravity of Israel’s violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law, the suspension or expulsion of the IFA from FIFA would be the most appropriate sanction.”
There are also numerous precedents for FIFA to sanction Israel, based on its past decision to suspend or expel member associations over the years. South Africa’s football association was suspended in 1961 due to the country's apartheid policy while Yugoslavia was banned in 1992 following United Nations sanctions amid the Serb-dominated government's aggression in the Balkans. FIFA also acted swiftly to suspend Russian teams from their competitions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Yet despite Israel’s continued devastation in Gaza and the growing pressure from federations, activists and non-profit organizations to take action, FIFA President Gianni Infantino opted to defer the PFA motion during the FIFA Congress back in May.
“Public Incitement to Genocide”
Meanwhile, the PFA also submitted its arguments to the FIFA Council earlier this month, citing among its arguments the “public incitement to genocide” committed by Israeli football clubs and the members of the Israeli national football team.
“Shon Weissman, ex Israeli Air Force member and a player of the Israeli national team and of the Salernitana of the Italian league, who posted “Destroy. Tighten. Crush. To God’s revenge”, "What is the logical reason why 200 tons of bombs have not already been dropped on Gaza”. Tomer Yosefi, from Hapoel Haifa FC in the Israeli league, expressed hope that “this time we will erase Gaza permanently”. Incitement, glorifying and practical support of the IOF by Israeli football clubs go unpunished by the Israeli FA (IFA).”
The PFA submission also cited the “close cooperation with the government and the IOF in managing their football affairs, violating FIFA principle of neutrality; inclusion of illegal Israeli settlement clubs in IFA leagues contrary to FIFA principle of territoriality; raging racism in some of the Israeli football clubs that goes unpunished; and inability to guarantee safety and security at international football events.”
“For 15 years we have consistently raised the same concerns with FIFA, only to see them repeatedly deferred from one Congress to another, from one committee to the next,” said Jibril Rajoub, President of the PFA, in an official statement. “Now, as our football faces the same existential threat as our Palestinian people, FIFA must make a choice either to passively stand by, or uphold its core values and human rights obligations, and stand firmly on the right side of history.”
Israel ramps up war effort
Since October 7, more than 41,000 people, including 16,000 children, have been killed by Israeli forces. More than 89,000 Palestinians have been injured while at least 10,000 are feared still buried under rubble. Israel’s assault on Gaza has also laid waste to the strip’s infrastructure, razing entire neighbourhoods and destroying agriculture, libraries, universities, and hospitals alike.
Palestinian sports have not been spared in Israel’s ongoing war. All of the city’s football stadiums have been destroyed or partially damaged, while a total of 49 other sports facilities have suffered similar fates. According to the PFA, more than 343 athletes have been killed since October 7, including 241 football players (67 children and 174 adults).
Despite ongoing negotiations for a permanent ceasefire, Israel has ramped up its attacks on Gaza over the past few weeks. Among the attacks was an Israeli airstrike in a crowded safe zone killed dozens of displaced people and turned the area into a “charred wasteland littered with burning cars and mangled bodies.”
"Those moments as the ground shook underneath my feet and the dust and sand rose to the sky and I saw dismembered bodies - was like nothing I have seen in my life," said Aya Mohammad, 30, a market seller in Mawasi told Reuters via text messages.
FIFA has not responded to Sports Politika’s request for comment.
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