Activists demand Israel’s suspension from European football, urging accountability for alleged genocide.
Following the recent ceasefire in Gaza, renewed demands have emerged for Israel’s exclusion from European football competitions as the national team resumes its FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying matches.
Human rights organization Game Over Israel called on UEFA this past Saturday to suspend Israel’s participation until it halts its violations against Palestinians.
With the Gaza ceasefire taking effect on Friday, Ashish Prashar, campaign director at Game Over Israel, emphasized the imperative of holding Israel responsible for its actions.
Prashar asserted that Israel “has no rightful place in international football” given the atrocities committed in Gaza, which numerous human rights organizations and UN investigators have characterized as genocide.
“Even if active hostilities cease, genocide remains a grave crime against humanity, arguably the most severe offense a state or entity can perpetrate,” Prashar told Al Jazeera.
He drew a parallel to post-World War II Europe, noting, “After the war, Nazi Germany was barred from football, and the Nuremberg trials were convened.”
To amplify their message, Game Over Israel has launched billboard campaigns in major global cities. The latest installation in Milan directly addressed UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, stating: “Israel is committing genocide. Suspend Israel now. It’s your moral obligation.”
The campaign also placed a full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times on Saturday, reinforcing the call for action.
From Times Square to MILAN 🇮🇹, football fans have had ENOUGH! ‼️😡 Stop allowing football to sports-wash genocide. The world sees through it and we’re demanding a full Israeli boycott across football. The Federations can’t hide anymore. Suspend Israel.#GameOverIsrael @UEFA pic.twitter.com/pbQSmn1pia
– gameoverisrael (@gameover_israel) October 11, 2025
John Dugard, former UN special rapporteur on Palestine, underscored the urgent legal necessity for UEFA to suspend the Israel Football Association (IFA).
“By allowing Israeli teams to compete, UEFA risks complicity in normalizing war crimes,” Dugard stated.
He urged UEFA to “preserve the sport’s integrity by immediately suspending the IFA and all its affiliated teams from UEFA competitions until Israel ends the genocide, ceases its unlawful occupation, and fully adheres to international law.”
Beyond the Gaza conflict, Israel permits football clubs based in settlements within the occupied West Bank-territories deemed illegal under international law-to participate in its professional leagues, contravening FIFA regulations.
FIFA’s statutes specify that “member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without that association’s consent.”
International consensus, supported by UN resolutions and rulings from the International Court of Justice, recognizes the West Bank as Palestinian land under illegal Israeli occupation.
Notably, both FIFA and UEFA suspended Russia shortly after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Craig Mokhiber, a former UN official, emphasized the severity of the situation: “Mass incarceration, systematic torture, illegal occupation, apartheid-these are all red lines. Genocide is the ultimate red line.”
He warned, “Israel has crossed multiple fundamental boundaries of human rights, and to overlook this now would be to endorse a new era of global suffering.”
This month, over 30 legal experts signed a letter to UEFA President Ceferin, urging the suspension of Israel’s football association.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Norwegian supporters protested before their national team’s match against Israel on Saturday, waving Palestinian flags and displaying banners accusing Israel of apartheid and genocide.
The game concluded with a decisive 5-0 victory for Norway. Israel currently holds third place in Group I of the UEFA qualifiers ahead of its upcoming match against Italy on Tuesday, with slim prospects of reaching the World Cup playoffs.
The United States, co-host of the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico, has declared it will oppose any efforts to exclude Israel from the World Cup if the team qualifies.
Historically, Israel’s sole FIFA World Cup appearance was in 1970, qualifying through the Asian confederation rather than Europe.
