Instead of Red Card, UEFA helps Israel sports wash its crimes
The Union of European Football Association accepts Israel as candidate for its Executive Committee
Israel has killed more than 700 Palestinian athletes since October 2023 and instead of being disciplined, the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) has accepted the apartheid state’s candidacy for the UEFA Executive Committee.
Just last week, an Israeli air strike killed former footballer and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) coach Muhammad Ibrahim Mahmoud Inshasi in Gaza. His wife and three sons were also killed. That same week, 17-year-old goalie Walid Khaled Abdullah Ahmad died while in an Israeli prison. These infractions alone deserve wall-to-wall coverage on sports networks across the globe, yet this week Israel might be awarded for its crimes by the UEFA.
Some of you might be wondering, What is Israel doing in the UEFA?
The AFC expelled Israel in the 1970s when other teams in the confederation refused to compete with the state. For approximately the next two decades, Israel solely competed against European countries until the FIFA governing football body in Europe (UEFA), accepted the apartheid state into its ranks in 1991, assisting in Israel’s sports washing campaign.
The official vote for the UEFA Executive Committee will take place April 3rd at the 49th UEFA Congress in Belgrade, Serbia. The supreme controlling organ of the UEFA brings presidents and general secretaries representing each of its 55 member associations to make decisions that help shape European football, according to their website.
By ignoring the massive campaign to punish Israel for killing and injuring Palestinian athletes and breaking rules instituted by FIFA, sports organizations encourage Israel to continue its abhorrent behavior and tarnish the most popular game in the world.
I have been writing about these infractions for more than a decade and they’ve been ignored by FIFA for much longer. Fans of teams across the world have gotten involved and are pushing the “Red Card Israel” campaign, because they deem this behavior unacceptable.
Banners have been displayed in dozens of stadiums across five continents, from small time football clubs to the top leagues in the world.
Palestine has regularly made formal complaints against Israel to FIFA and every time their valid concerns and requests reach incompetent ears.
Human rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank have been the norm for decades, but since October the brutality has exponentially increased. Not to forget, Israel incorporates teams from illegal settlements in the West Bank in its leagues without Palestine’s blessing, which FIFA prohibits.
People, including myself, are sick and tired of sports organizations like UEFA sportswashing Israel’s military occupation, apartheid and genocide. By doing so, they show contempt for ICJ rulings and their legal obligations. UEFA, like FIFA, has helped Israel destroy the pillars of international law. They have an obligation to act and act quickly.
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