Israel football ban: Uefa vote and Gaza conflict impact explained

Uefa has previously resisted calls to bar Israel from its competitions, with Ceferin saying in August that he is generally opposed to bans.

“I think that all athletes should have the opportunity to compete and that other things should be handled differently,” the Slovenian said.

But the organisation was heavily criticised – including by Liverpool star Mohamed Salah – in the summer when it posted about Palestinian footballer Suleiman al-Obeid on social media but did not refer to the circumstances surrounding his death.

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) had said he had been killed in an Israeli attack while waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip.

The PFA has also said that the number of footballers killed or who have died from starvation in Gaza totals 421, including 103 children.

Subsequently, Uefa placed banners on the pitch before the Super Cup match between Paris St-Germain and Tottenham in Italy in August reading ‘stop killing children’ and ‘stop killing civilians’.

The Turkish FA has now become the first Uefa member to publicly demand Israel’s suspension.

“Despite positioning themselves as defenders of civilized values and peace, the sports world and football institutions have remained silent for too long,” said Turkish FA president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu.

“It is time for Fifa and Uefa to take action. Israel must be banned from all sporting competitions immediately.”

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 65,502 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Former Arsenal and current Real Betis defender Hector Bellerin has been outspoken on the Israel-Gaza conflict, and told the BBC he feels the rules have not been equally applied to Russia and Israel.

“I just don’t understand how when the war between Russia and Ukraine started, Russia couldn’t compete in any sports, and now the measurement is a different bar for what is happening with Israel,” the Spaniard said. “I don’t think that is right.

“There are kids and families that are being bombed every day. I wish that all my colleagues, all the organisations in football would step forward, because football most of the time is the place where people look.”

But others maintain that Israel should keep their place in Uefa competitions.

“For either Uefa or Fifa to remove Israel from football competitions would be a betrayal of Jewish communities all over the world, and an act of vilification, demonisation and de-legitimisation of Israel,” said Simon Johnson, ex-director of corporate affairs at the FA and former chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council.

“It would do nothing to end the war or bring peace to the region.”

Pressure seems to be building towards a formal decision which, whichever way it goes, could have seismic consequences far beyond football.

Additional reporting by Shamoon Hafez.

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