UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has made his feelings clear on banning Israel amid the ongoing conflict with Palestine.
80,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory of Gaza since the war started, with more than 17,000 children losing their lives.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, UEFA acted by enforcing a ban in all of their competitions which applied to the national team and its clubs.
That ban is still in place and with the events in Gaza, there have been calls for Israel to be suspended from competition.
Advert
Ahead of a World Cup qualifier in Hungary next week, the Italian Football Coaches Association (AIAC) voiced their concerns, penned an open letter where they demanded Israel’s suspension from international football.
In their last meeting, around 50 Italian fans turned their backs while Hatikvah, which the Israel national anthem, was played.
That also happened in a recent wheelchair basketball match between Great Britain and Israel, who filed a formal complaint afterwards.
Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv are still poised to play in the Europa League this season and will meet Aston Villa, Dinamo Zagreb, Lyon, PAOK, Midtjylland, SC Freiburg, Bologna and VfB Stuttgart in the league phase.
Ceferin explains stance on Israel ban
In an new interview, Ceferin revealed he is not in favour of banning athletes as he deems them to be blameless in the situation - pointing out that the war in Ukraine did not stop because of Russia's suspension.
“Look, first of all, what’s happening with civilians there is personally hurting, killing me,” Ceferin told Politico.
“From the other point of view, I’m not a supporter of banning the athletes. Because what can an athlete do to their government to stop the war? It’s very, very hard. Now, the ban for Russian teams is, I think, three and a half years. Did the [Ukraine] war stop? It didn’t.”
Asked about the topic in an interview with Slovenian TV in August, Ceferin said, "I think the time has come when we have to stop pretending that we are a sports organisation that lives on another planet".
Last month, Ceferin stood alongside two Palestinian children who handed out medals at the UEFA Super Cup, where a banner which read, “STOP KILLING CHILDREN - STOP KILLING CIVILIANS,” was unfurled beforehand.
Topics: UEFA
Josh Lawless