September 23: Amnesty International has called on UEFA and FIFA to suspend the Israel Football Association ahead of the new Nations League campaign, accusing football’s governing bodies of allowing the game to “stamp apartheid”.
Israel begin their B-League program against Austria tomorrow before games against Ireland and Kosovo, with the international window already putting pressure on the pitch.
Amnesty’s latest intervention focuses mainly on Israeli clubs based in settlements in the occupied West Bank that continue to compete within the IFA’s internal system.
The organization argues that their participation violates FIFA’s bylaws and last October called for the IFA to be suspended unless the clubs were pulled from Israeli competitions. Most countries and the United Nations consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
FIFA decided in March not to take action on the settlement clubs, saying the final legal status of the West Bank remains “unsettled and very complex” under international law. The Palestine Football Association later appealed this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Amnesty Europe director Steve Cockburn said UEFA and FIFA “should have suspended the Israel Football Association a long time ago”, adding: “The beautiful game should bring people together, not rubber-stamp apartheid.”
Amnesty describes Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as apartheid and its actions in Gaza as genocide. Israel rejects both characterizations and says its military campaign in Gaza has targeted Hamas since the October 2023 attacks.
The statement adds another layer to what was already shaping up to be an awkward Nations League window for UEFA.
The FAI (Ireland) have previously called on UEFA to consider Israel’s suspension and last week also sought to separate Ireland and Israel in future draws. UEFA rejected the latter request, saying draw restrictions are assessed on a case-by-case basis and generally when relationships create structural security risks.
Ireland will still play their two scheduled games, with the FAI estimating that refusing to play could cost around €5.5m before the wider sporting consequences, such as the knock-on effect on Ireland’s Nations League standings, are taken into account.
The presentation of the stream around these games has been almost completely removed. Irish broadcaster RTÉ will show them without their normal studio coverage or sponsorship, while the FAI removes the trademark from their designated home set.
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has also been thrown into the fray after referring to genocide during the squad announcement last week, prompting an angry response from the Israel FA.
The two Ireland-Israel games are scheduled for September 27 and October 4, with neutral sites in Hungary and Serbia.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at harry.ewing@insideworldfootball.com
