Recent Calls to Exclude Israel from International Sports Competitions
In recent weeks, the football world has been abuzz with calls to exclude the Israeli entity from all international sports competitions, similar to the double suspension imposed on Russia by FIFA and UEFA in late February 2022, following the start of the Russian "special operation" in Ukraine.
Numerous initiatives have been launched to ban the Israeli Football Association (IFA) and all Zionist athletes from continental and international competitions. A joint statement, co-signed by around 50 high-level athletes and supported by the "Nujum Sports" organization, was published on the independent website "Athletes 4 Peace". Additionally, Amnesty International sent a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin on October 1, calling for the exclusion of Israel from international competitions.
Even the Spanish government, through the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), threatened to boycott the 2026 World Cup if Israel qualifies for the tournament. This would be a significant move, as it is difficult to find a similar decision by a major football nation in the history of the World Cup.
It is worth noting that three independent experts from the United Nations recently called on FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel, citing the "genocide" in Gaza and stating that "sports organizations should not turn a blind eye to serious human rights violations".
However, it seems that double standards also play a significant role in football geopolitics. FIFA President Gianni Infantino put an end to the suspense yesterday, at the organization's headquarters in Zurich, by dismissing the urgent and insistent calls from NGOs and three European federations (Spanish, Turkish, and Norwegian) to bar the Israeli football team from the 2026 World Cup and to suspend Israeli football clubs from international competitions.
Referring to the "current situation in Gaza" at the beginning of the closed-door meeting of the council, Infantino stated that the "power of football" is to "bring people together in a divided world" by offering "a message of peace and unity", according to a statement from the organization. "FIFA cannot solve geopolitical problems, but it can and must promote football around the world by exploiting its unifying, educational, cultural, and humanitarian values", insisted the head of world football.
This position from the "Big Boss" of FIFA is not surprising. Like any leader of an international organization, Gianni Infantino juggles lobbying and politics. And, similar to his servile attitude towards Russian President Vladimir Putin during the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia, as well as his praise for Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Infantino does not want to go against US President Donald Trump, the president of the next World Cup host country and a loyal ally of the Israeli entity, if not its protector.
"It's simple, FIFA follows Trump's policy, there will be no deviation from this", says a member of UEFA.
Between hypocrisy and partiality, the "double standard" and the multi-faceted politicization of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) show how political interests and economic interests (the enormous financial windfall that the American market and the organization of a World Cup in the United States can generate) take precedence over Olympic values and sports ethics.
Certainly, the genocide committed in the Palestinian enclave and the daily drama of around 2.1 million Gazans crushed by the Zionist war machine do not have the same value in the eyes of FIFA and its leader... as the blood shed in Ukraine. One thing is sure, all nations are not treated equally. And what a strange equity between peoples and nations.
