Israeli media: UEFA wants to ban Israel from European football

According to the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel, UEFA is "under enormous pressure" to ban Israel from all European football events.

The Israeli daily Hayom reports that the vote was scheduled to take place today. UEFA has not yet communicated anything about such a vote. The Israeli Football Association told The Times of Israel that reports of a vote are "inaccurate."

So, uncertainty about such a vote. But there's no doubt that the topic is a hot topic in football – among associations, fans, and UEFA. Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which has severely affected the civilian population, the growing number of Palestinian flags in the stands of football stadiums has become undeniable, as have the banners displayed by fans. During the Champions League final on May 31, Paris Saint-Germain supporters displayed a banner reading "Stop genocide in Gaza."

And at the opening of the football season last month, the Super Cup between Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur, UEFA made a clear statement. Before the match, two banners were placed on the pitch, each reading "Stop killing children" and "Stop killing civilians" in bold letters.

"UEFA normally keeps a low profile when it comes to politics," says Paul Reef, a sports historian at Radboud University Nijmegen who specializes in protests at sporting events. "These texts were delivered as a humanitarian statement, but you can't help but see them as a clear political statement at the same time. That's remarkable in itself."

He points out that two Palestinian refugee children were on the pitch at the time. "And Slovenian UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin recently gave an interview to Politico , in which he said he's concerned about what's happening in Gaza. It's quite remarkable that a UEFA executive is speaking out so strongly about a political issue."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said last week at his party's congress that Israel, like Russia, should be banned from tournaments. He even hinted that Spain might skip the 2026 World Cup (held in Mexico, the US, and Canada) if Israel were present.

French football legend Eric Cantona spoke last week at the Together for Palestine benefit festival in London, where he advocated for the banning of Israeli sports teams: "We are now on day 716 of what the United Nations calls a genocide, yet Israel is still allowed to participate."

The participation of Israeli teams is also a sensitive issue in other sports. During Spain's national cycling race, the Vuelta, several stages, including the final stage in Madrid , were halted because pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the road. They were angry about the participation of the Israel Premier-Tech team.

Last Saturday, police were forced to intervene at the European Baseball Championship in Rotterdam, where demonstrators protested Israel's participation. Demonstrations continued in Rotterdam last night.

The topic is also a hot topic outside of sports: last week it was announced that Spain , the Netherlands , Ireland, and Slovenia will boycott the Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed to participate. Germany, on the other hand, announced its disagreement with that decision.

"In the world of sports, it's common for the International Olympic Committee to take the lead in banning countries," explains sports historian Reef. "That's the standard line of defense for sports federations of various countries and sports: we follow the IOC's decision. We saw that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine: the IOC led the boycott, and everyone else followed."

In that light, it would be unique if UEFA, as a sports governing body, were to make such a decision outside the IOC, he says. A well-known exception was FIFA, which suspended South Africa in 1961 because of apartheid. That was three years before the IOC. "Those sanctions were only lifted after the end of apartheid."

Reef sees "a clear difference" between how quickly a boycott was declared against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine and the hesitation in the sports world to take action against Israel. "With Russia, it happened very quickly. With Israel, you mainly see hesitation."

He sees two possible reasons for this. First, in the case of Russia, the powerful Western countries within the sports federations exerted heavy pressure on the IOC to take measures. That pressure is much lighter in the case of Israel. "The argument of European countries supporting Israel is often: with Russia, it was about invading another country; with Israel, we see it as a response to a terrorist attack."

Secondly, Reef explains: "The major upcoming tournaments of the world's two largest sports federations, the IOC Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup, are in America. The current US administration under Trump is clearly a friend of Israel. So, you could say, the IOC has an interest in keeping the US administration friendly."

He adds, with the possible UEFA vote in mind, "That last argument wouldn't apply to UEFA. The European Championship is, of course, in Europe."

Still, according to Reef, the various sports federations do have reasons to treat Israel the same as Russia: "That country is excluded because it violates the Olympic peace and because the safety of events and athletes is jeopardized. Russia's participation poses risks. You can't deny that these things also apply to Israel. You can see that in the protests at the Vuelta."

If UEFA puts such a motion to a vote, Reef says it will officially be to ensure the safety of athletes, not to impose a penalty on Israel. "That's the safest way to word it."

Should it come to that, Reef expects it will indeed be "a heavy blow" for Israel. "This will hit the population harder than, say, economic sanctions. This is the most important sport in the country. Israel was admitted to UEFA and the European sporting world in the 1990s. They're proud of that. If Europe now excludes Israel as a pariah, if that symbolic bond is severed, that will really hurt the people."

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