The European football governing body UEFA will not suspend Israeli national teams and clubs over the conflict in Gaza after encountering significant pushback from the US, the newspaper Israel Hayom reported on Tuesday.
The potential suspension of Israel is not on UEFA’s agenda thanks to the efforts of unspecified “Israeli and international diplomats, football association leaders, and sports officials,” as well as “American officials” who pressed the organization “not to upset the status quo,” according to the newspaper. The US is not a member of UEFA.
The report comes after a UN panel on Monday urged UEFA and global governing body FIFA to suspend Israel. The move is a “necessary response to address the ongoing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory,” the experts said as the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas is approaching the two-year mark.
“Sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual. Sporting bodies must not turn a blind eye to grave human rights violations, especially when their platforms are used to normalize injustices,” the experts said, adding that “a growing number of international bodies [are] affirming that genocide is being committed.”
The effort to suspend Israel was reportedly spearheaded by Qatar. While the Gulf country has long advocated such a move, it renewed its effort in the wake of the September 9 Israeli attack on a Hamas compound in Doha.
UEFA has long been accused of double standards due to suspending Russia within a week after the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022 while showing little response to the Gaza crisis. Asked for comment on the latest developments, legendary Russian footballer and coach Andrey Kanchelskis urged the European body to lift the ban imposed on the country.
“These are double standards. They exist, unfortunately. We are hostages to the situation. Let Russia be brought back into international tournaments,” Kanchelskis told the newspaper Sport Express.
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