FIFA Council Meeting in Zurich to Discuss Israel's Football Participation

FIFA Council Meeting in Zurich to Discuss Israel's Football Participation

FIFA Council Meeting in Zurich to Discuss Israel's Football Participation

Israel's participation in international football is not on the agenda for the FIFA Council meeting scheduled in Zurich on Thursday.

This meeting of FIFA's main decision-making body comes as football authorities face increasing pressure to impose sanctions on Israel following a recent United Nations commission of inquiry report. The report concluded that Israel has committed acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Although Israel's participation is not formally listed for discussion, it could potentially be addressed under 'miscellaneous' items.

BBC Sport has reached out to FIFA for clarification on whether Israel's involvement in international football will be part of the discussions.

Currently, Israel's national team is competing in the European qualifiers for the men's World Cup scheduled for next summer, while the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv is participating in the Europa League.

Amnesty International has recently joined calls for FIFA, which oversees the World Cup, and UEFA, which manages European competitions, to suspend the Israeli Football Association (IFA) from their tournaments.

FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani stated that the decision should rest with UEFA. He remarked, "First and foremost, [Israel] is a member of UEFA, and they must handle it as any other member would in my region for various reasons."

As it stands, Israel is third in their World Cup qualifying group organized by UEFA, six points behind the leaders, Norway. The top team from each group automatically qualifies for the tournament, while the runners-up enter the playoffs.

The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The administration of former US President Donald Trump has pledged to oppose any efforts to exclude Israel from participation.

The UN report indicated reasonable grounds to believe that four out of the five genocidal acts defined under international law have been perpetrated since the onset of the conflict in 2023. A panel of human rights experts from the UN subsequently urged FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel's national team from international football, stating, "Sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual."

Israel has consistently denied allegations that its actions in Gaza constitute genocide, asserting that they are necessary for self-defense. The Israeli Foreign Ministry described the UN report as "distorted and false."

In related news, sports brand Reebok refuted claims that it requested the IFA to remove its logos from team kits, stating, "These reports are simply not true." An IFA statement, as reported by the Telegraph, noted that after discussions between IFA president Moshe Zuares, Reebok, and the local franchisee, the company reversed its decision to terminate its contract with the Israeli national teams. Consequently, the teams' uniforms in international matches will continue to display the company's logo as before.

A spokesperson for Reebok emphasized, "We are proud of our record as a unifier of all cultures on and off the pitch. We will continue to honor our brand's and our local licensee's commitment to the IFA. We don’t do politics; we do sport."

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