Independent legal analyzes by lawyers specializing in international law and human rights assessed that the International Football Federation (FIFA) should ban Israel from participating in all football activities due to the war in the Gaza Strip.
Namely, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) asked FIFA to suspend Israel in May because of the genocide it is committing in Gaza, and this request was supported by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
However, FIFA responded to the request by asking for an urgent legal evaluation of the situation, promising that it would be presented to the public at an extraordinary meeting of its council this month.
“There is no doubt that Israel’s behavior in Palestine undermines all of FIFA’s objectives. Israel has violated the internationally recognized human rights of Palestinians in violation of Article 3. It discriminates against Palestinians on the basis of race, nationality and birth in direct violation of Article 4(1). Its conduct undermines the humanitarian objectives described in Article 5.1(b). Therefore, Israel’s conduct requires suspension, in accordance with the rules adopted by FIFA in relation to similar violations of its objectives and internationally recognized human rights,” writes the evaluation made by lawyers Max du Plessis and Sarah Pudifin-Jones, who were hired by the non-profit social justice organization Eko.
Eko added that their petition asking FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to expel Israel from international sports competitions has collected more than 380,000 signatures.
