Wednesday 29 October 2025 - 09:49
FIFA, UEFA flayed for disregarding international law by continuing to include Israel in competition

FIFA and UEFA are disregarding international law by allowing Israel to compete despite credible reports from respected international organizations describing Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide, said Kat Vilarev, the Palestine FA's legal adviser and a sports law academic.

Hawzah News Agency- Speaking to Anadolu, Vilarev said that although the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and FairSquare have all issued findings against Israel, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin have chosen to ignore them.

"Both football and basketball associations use occupied Palestinian land as their own to stage competitions, which means that they directly aid the occupation and illegal settlements. Given the complicity of all levels of Israeli sports, global sports bodies should enforce their own statutes, human rights policies, and disciplinary codes and act consistently with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights'', she said.

Vilarev went on to say that Israeli athletes are soldiers, and some have even called for Gaza's destruction, while clubs and associations have publicly supported Israeli occupation forces.

Vilarev stated that FIFA and UEFA, which swiftly expelled Russia and Belarus from competitions over the invasion of Ukraine, have disregarded their own legal principles to shield Israel from accountability.

The illegal transfer of the settler civilian population, who are also athletes in settlement clubs, is a war crime, according to Vilarev.

She said the entire system is deeply politicized, dominated by political figures such as Infantino and Ceferin who make decisions based on politics and power rather than on principle.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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