• Since October 2023, the Israeli military has killed 341 Palestinian footballers and six Lebanese players, while systematically targeting Palestinian sports infrastructure.
• FIFA has refrained from suspending Israeli teams, perpetuating a stark double standard in enforcing its ethical policies.
Since October 2023, the Israeli military has killed 341 Palestinian football players and at least six Lebanese footballers, including a female national player who remains in a coma after an airstrike. This deliberate targeting of athletes and the broader infrastructure of Palestinian football is deliberate. Despite these harrowing realities, Israeli football teams continue to compete in international tournaments, shielded by the inaction of FIFA, the very organisation tasked with safeguarding fairness and unity in global sport.
Systemic Suppression of Palestinian Athletes
The systematic oppression of Palestinian athletes is not a new phenomenon. The illegal occupation of the West Bank has created insurmountable obstacles for Palestinian footballers, who face movement restrictions, checkpoints, and outright violence. Many athletes have been detained, assaulted, or permanently injured by Israeli forces, effectively ending their careers. In one of many documented cases, Israeli security forces have shot Palestinian players in the legs, a calculated act that destroys not only their physical capabilities but also their aspirations.
Sports facilities in Gaza and the West Bank have been bombed, erasing the infrastructure required for professional and recreational development.
A Player Left Fighting for Her Life
In Lebanon, Celine Haidar, a professional footballer for the Lebanese women’s national team, was critically injured when Israeli airstrikes bombarded a suburb of Beirut. Haidar’s current condition—a coma—is emblematic of the indiscriminate bombing campaign of Israel. This deliberate targeting of civilian areas illustrated the ongoing brutal actions of the Israeli regime.
FIFA’s Deafening Silence
In stark contrast to its swift actions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, FIFA has repeatedly delayed addressing Israel’s violations of human rights and international law. Despite ongoing pleas from the Palestine Football Association (PFA) since 2014, FIFA has failed to suspend Israel from its competitions or even condemn the systematic targeting of athletes. This double standard casts doubt on FIFA’s commitment to its own ethical guidelines, which emphasise the importance of protecting human rights and ensuring fairness in global sport.
Several European football federations had preemptively refused to participate in scheduled matches against Russia, including Poland, whose national team—led by captain Robert Lewandowski—declared it would not travel to Moscow for a World Cup qualifying playoff in March 2022. Subsequently, FIFA successfully contended before the Court of Arbitration for Sport that allowing Russian teams to remain in its competitions would incite disorder and pose significant security risks. As a result, Russian teams have been barred from participating in tournaments such as the World Cup, European Championships, and the Champions League for over two and a half years.
Conversely, in the case of Israel—a UEFA member for three decades—no European federation has refused to face either its national team or its club teams in international competitions.
FIFA’s refusal to act in the face of such atrocities is not merely a failure of governance—it is complicity. By allowing Israeli teams to compete in international tournaments, FIFA indirectly legitimises the oppression and violence endured by Palestinian and Lebanese athletes. This selective enforcement of ethical policies undermines the credibility of FIFA as a global institution committed to justice, equality, and unity.
A Moral Imperative for Action
Suspending Israeli teams from international competitions would not only send a powerful message of solidarity with oppressed athletes but also uphold the principles that FIFA claims to champion.
FIFA Press Release Statement
According to the Word Soccer’s Governing Body, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) submitted a proposal to suspend Israel in May.
The PFA had proposed getting Israel suspended over Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, highlighting Israel Football Association’s (IFA) complicity in violations of international law by the Israeli government, discrimination against Arab players and inclusion in its league of clubs located in Palestinian territory.
In early October, FIFA stated that they will not suspend the Israeli football team but will investigate the matter instead.
“FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee will be entrusted with the mission to investigate… the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine,” the ruling body said.
