UEFA Set to Decide Israel’s Future in Competitions Amid Gaza War | OneFootball

For months now, a question has hung over European football like a cloud: why was Russia expelled from UEFA within days of its invasion of Ukraine, yet Israel remains on the fixture list after nearly two years of its military campaign in Gaza? That comparison is at the heart of the anger spilling from terraces to boardrooms, from Dublin to Doha.

The pressure has built into this week, where UEFA’s Executive Committee could be forced to confront the matter head-on. Reports suggest that on Tuesday, a vote may be called on whether to suspend Israel from all competitions. If it goes ahead, the impact would be immediate, ejecting Maccabi Tel Aviv from the Europa League and removing Israel’s national side from the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Now, with campaigners rallying and Israel scrambling behind the scenes to stop the issue from reaching the table, the sport’s governing body finds itself at a crossroads that could reshape its competitions overnight.

What UEFA is being asked to decide

The core question is whether UEFA’s Executive Committee will formally place the suspension of the Israel FA on its agenda. The body has wide discretion to act when it feels the safety or integrity of its competitions is under threat, and in this case, campaigners argue that the ongoing war in Gaza has already crossed that line. Officially, the next full meeting is not until December, but extraordinary discussions can be added at any point, and pressure has built rapidly in recent weeks for this to happen sooner.

If Tuesday’s meeting in Nyon does include the issue, insiders suggest the numbers are already stacked against Israel. The majority of UEFA’s 55 member associations are expected to favour suspension if it comes to a vote. That explains why the Israeli FA and its government backers have been scrambling behind the scenes. Their immediate goal is not to win the ballot but to prevent it from being called in the first place, knowing that once the matter is tabled, the outcome could be decisive.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 17: A protester holds a banner saying ‘ kick Israel out of Gaza ‘ during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Chelsea FC at Etihad Stadium on February 17, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

What suspension would mean for football

The footballing impact of a UEFA suspension would be both immediate and disruptive. Maccabi Tel Aviv, one of Israel’s leading clubs, are set to play in the Europa League’s league phase starting this week. A decision to suspend the Israeli FA would eject them instantly, forcing UEFA either to hand their opponents walkovers or to redraw the competition schedule. Either option would have knock-on effects for broadcasters, sponsors, and fans who have already bought tickets.

On the international stage, the stakes are just as high. Israel are competing in Group I of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, alongside Italy, Norway, Estonia and Moldova. Removing them from the competition would create gaps in the fixture list, leaving UEFA with decisions on how to award points or whether to reschedule matches entirely. For teams chasing a top-two spot, those rulings could decide whether they reach the finals in North America or fall into the uncertainty of the play-off path. For coaches, players and supporters, the uncertainty would be immense.

The pressure campaign that brought UEFA here

This week’s headlines are the result of months of mounting pressure. Protest banners have been a regular sight at major European fixtures, while advocacy groups have coordinated public petitions and legal arguments to press UEFA into action. As recently as the European Super Cup, UEFA displayed a banner saying to ‘stop killing children’, with two refugee children from Gaza being involved in the medal ceremony. It was clear this was in reference to what Israel is doing.

The issue reached another level when Bohemian FC, one of Ireland’s oldest clubs, teamed up with FairSquare and Irish Sport for Palestine to write directly to UEFA. Their case rests not just on politics but on statutes: that Israel fields clubs based in occupied West Bank settlements in its domestic leagues, and that repeated incidents of discrimination in Israeli football breach UEFA’s own rules.

Bohemian FC have long been supportive of the Palestine cause, with the club wearing a Palestine-inspired jersey in 2023. Where Bohemian’s away shirt was created in partnership with Sport for Life Palestine. 10% of proceeds from the shirt went to help support children in the city of Tulkarem in the West Bank.

The BDS movement and allied organisations have also amplified the calls, urging national associations to demand Israel’s suspension. With the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement stating:

The significance here is not just the volume of activism but its penetration into the structures of European football governance. Once clubs and federations put their names to formal letters, UEFA committees are obliged to respond. That paper trail forces the issue onto agendas, and from there, it becomes a matter of procedure rather than rhetoric.

The politics no one can ignore

Beyond club and supporter activism, state actors have taken a strong interest in the matter. Reports from Israel suggest that Qatar, which has long invested in European football broadcasting and sponsorship, has lobbied influential figures to push the question onto UEFA’s agenda.

That intervention follows heightened political tension after Israeli military action in the region, underlining how the conflict has spilt into sport. Even if UEFA denies external influence, the suggestion itself shows how football has become an extension of diplomatic pressure.

But this is not just politics. Let us be clear here.

Campaigners point to the ongoing assault on Gaza as a genocide and highlight that what is happening in the West Bank amounts to systematic crimes under international law. From civilian deaths to the expansion of settlements, the argument is that UEFA cannot treat this purely as a political disagreement, because the scale of human harm makes neutrality impossible.

The Guardian revealed last month that internal data from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) indicated a civilian death toll of 83% between the outbreak of war in October 2023 and May of this year. A recent Acled report stated that about 15 of every 16 Palestinians the Israeli military has killed since its renewed offensive in Gaza began in March have been civilians.

Israel, for its part, has responded with urgency. According to Israeli media, the federation has been working overtime to prevent Tuesday’s meeting from including a vote. Officials have reportedly appealed to key allies in European football, urging them to slow the process and keep the issue off the table until at least December. Their calculation is simple: delay buys time, and time may reduce the likelihood of a decisive suspension. But with campaigners growing louder and national associations like Ireland beginning to engage, the pressure shows little sign of easing.

UEFA’s legal levers and the precedent of Russia

For UEFA, the central question is not whether politics and morality matter, but how they fit within its statutes. The organisation has broad authority to suspend a member association if it believes safety, fairness, or integrity are compromised. It also has obligations under its rules on non-discrimination and on territorial jurisdiction, which campaigners argue Israel has already breached by fielding clubs from West Bank settlements in its domestic leagues.

The clearest precedent is Russia. In February 2022, within days of its invasion of Ukraine, both UEFA and FIFA suspended Russian teams from international competition. At the time, UEFA stressed the need to protect the integrity and safety of its tournaments. The Court of Arbitration for Sport later upheld those decisions, showing that sport’s highest legal body is willing to defer to federations when they act in extraordinary circumstances. Israel’s critics say that if those principles applied then, they must apply now, or else UEFA risks charges of double standards.

What many find outrageous is not just the possibility of UEFA acting now, but the fact it has taken this long. Russia was removed almost overnight, its clubs and national teams frozen out before a qualifying cycle had even resumed. Israel, by contrast, has remained in UEFA competitions for nearly two years while its military campaign has left tens of thousands dead. For those calling for suspension, the delay feels like proof that political convenience has outweighed consistency.

Where FIFA fits into the picture

A UEFA suspension would stop Israel’s national teams and clubs from playing in European competitions, but it would not automatically amount to a worldwide ban. That authority sits with FIFA, which governs global tournaments like the World Cup. In practice, though, UEFA’s competitions are central to Israel’s footballing calendar, so exclusion at the European level would effectively end their route to North America in 2026.

FIFA has often followed confederations when they have taken decisive steps. That was the case with Russia: once UEFA and UEFA’s South American counterpart CONMEBOL moved against Moscow, FIFA acted to exclude the national team from World Cup qualifying. Campaigners argue the same should apply here, especially as UEFA itself is running Israel’s World Cup qualifiers. Without UEFA’s logistical and organisational support, those matches cannot go ahead, leaving FIFA little choice but to take a stance.

The outrage among critics is that FIFA and UEFA have been content to sit on their hands until now, even as the humanitarian toll has grown. For many, the idea that Israel can continue competing in qualifiers while a war of this scale unfolds makes a mockery of football’s repeated claims to uphold human rights. If Russia’s removal was immediate, they argue, then Israel’s prolonged inclusion looks like a deliberate act of double standards.

What happens if UEFA acts

The decision UEFA faces is not only about Israel’s place in competitions but about the credibility of football’s governance. If the Executive Committee moves to suspend the Israel FA this week, it would show that the organisation is prepared to apply the same standards it used against Russia, even if it has taken far longer to get there. If it does not, the accusations of hypocrisy will only intensify, and the pressure will continue to build from clubs, campaigners, and national associations.

The impact would be immediate. Maccabi Tel Aviv would be removed from the Europa League. Israel’s World Cup qualifying group would be dismantled. Fixtures, broadcast rights and points tables would all need to be reconfigured at short notice. That disruption is not collateral, it is the direct result of UEFA delaying a decision that should have been made long ago.

As Tuesday approaches, UEFA can no longer hide. Either it applies its own statutes consistently, or it confirms what many already suspect, that politics dictates which countries are punished and which are protected. For those calling for accountability, the UEFA vote to suspend Israel