UEFA moving towards vote to suspend Israel
European football’s governing body, UEFA, is reportedly moving towards a vote on the potential suspension of its member federation, Israel, due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Sources familiar with the proposal informed The Associated Press (AP) on Thursday that a majority of the 20-member UEFA Executive Committee is anticipated to support a vote in favor of suspending Israeli teams from international competitions.
The two sources spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity, citing the extreme sensitivity of the subject matter.
Implications and upcoming schedule
This development comes just two weeks before the Israel men’s national team is scheduled to resume its 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with crucial away matches against Norway and Italy.
The calls to exclude Israel from international soccer and other sports have intensified in recent weeks, fueled by the rising global outcry over the humanitarian toll of its military campaign in Gaza.
Last week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez publicly stated that Israel should face similar sanctions to those imposed on Russia, which was sidelined from international sports following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
UEFA and its President, Aleksander Ceferin, signaled a tougher stance last month when banners reading “Stop Killing Children. Stop Killing Civilians” were displayed on the field ahead of the Super Cup game between Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham in Udine, Italy.
FIFA’s position and Israeli efforts
The extent to which the world soccer body, FIFA, will support the exclusion of Israel remains uncertain, given the notably close relationship between FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and US President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration’s support—particularly in securing the World Cup and expediting visas for players, officials, and the hundreds of thousands of potential fans—is viewed as critical for FIFA to successfully host the tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico next year.
FIFA’s ruling council, which includes eight members from UEFA, is slated to meet in Zurich next week.
Meanwhile, Israel is working “intensively behind the scenes” to block the efforts to oust its federation from UEFA. The office of Israel’s Sports and Culture Minister, Miki Zohar, confirmed the efforts on Thursday, stating that Zohar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the head of Israel’s soccer federation, Moshe Zuares, are all involved.
“The right step now is to act responsibly with the professionals and not to make statements, and this is how all the parties involved in the efforts are acting. We will address this later,” Zohar’s office added.