A UN-appointed team of experts called on Tuesday for FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel from football in response to allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
“Sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual,” said the experts, who were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the UN. “Sporting bodies must not turn a blind eye to grave human rights violations, especially when their platforms are used to normalize injustices.”
The experts added that “there is a legal and moral imperative to take every measure possible to end the genocide in Gaza now.”
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Their statement comes a week after the UN’s independent international commission of inquiry concluded that genocide is occurring in Gaza and that Israel bears responsibility.
“The boycott must be directed at the State of Israel and not at individual players,” the experts said. “We have always maintained that individuals cannot bear the consequences of the decisions their government makes, so there should be no discrimination or sanctions against players because of their origin or nationality. National teams representing states that commit massive human rights violations can and should be suspended, as has happened in the past.”
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Among the experts compiling the report was Francesca Albanese, whom Israel declared persona non grata for her statement that “the victims of the October 7 massacre were not murdered because of their Jewishness, but in response to Israeli oppression.”
This week, retired football star Eric Cantona, who starred for both the French national team and Manchester United, called on Thursday for soccer’s governing bodies to suspend the Israeli national team and Israeli clubs over the war in Gaza.
Speaking at the Together for Palestine benefit in London, Cantona not only said that UEFA and FIFA must suspend the national team and Israeli clubs, but that until they do so, other clubs and national teams should refuse to play against them.
