Ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America, there have been ever-growing calls – from the likes of Manchester United and France icon Eric Cantona and the Spanish government – for the Israeli national team to be withdrawn from competing at the international showpiece due to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
And now, 51 sportspeople from around the world have combined forces in order to get governing bodies to suspend Israel from competing as reported by GiveMeSport.
As things stand, Russia – a nation that have been suspended since their invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – are the only nation to be banned from competing next summer. Israel, who are currently third in Group I and six points behind the table-topping Norway, are now at risk of also facing a similar suspension.
According to The Times, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, is preparing to take drastic measures in order to remain in the competition. Netanyahu is willing to make a personal appeal to world football’s chief figureheads in order to prevent his nation from being banned by FIFA and UEFA.
Following that news, there are plenty of sportspeople who are coming together to rival Israel.
On Friday, a coalition of professional athletes – who have united under the banner of Athletes 4 Peace – have called on UEFA to suspend Israel from competing in footballing competition until they ‘comply with international law and end the killing of civilians’. In reaction to the “unfolding genocide” in Gaza, the United Nations also released a statement calling for sporting bodies to ‘not turn a blind eye’.
The collection of sportspeople have joined together as one after the death of Suleiman al-Obeid, nicknamed ‘the Palestinian Pele’, in August. Mohamed Salah of Liverpool and Egypt, in response to UEFA’s tribute to the player, was prompted into replying with a stern message after they omitted the details of his untimely passing.
Of those that have committed to putting their signature down, Paul Pogba is the highest-profile name. According to a recent report from BBC Sport, the French World Cup winner has combined forces with Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure, who is the only current Premier League player on the list of names provided on their website.
Ex-Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech, Sam Morsy – formerly the captain of English outfit Ipswich Town – and former England cricketer Moeen Ali have also joined Pogba in signing. The signatories insist they are a “united voice of sports professionals from around the world, standing for justice, fairness, and humanity in sport”. Continuing their statement, they added:
“[Israel’s] actions violate international humanitarian law and contradict the principles of respect, safety and peace that sport represents. Sport is neutral in the face of injustice. To remain silent is to accept that the lives of some are worth less than others. Elsewhere, CEO Ebs Rahman said:
“Sport cannot stand silent while athletes and civilians including children are indiscriminately killed en masse in Gaza. It is an obligation for sporting bodies to take action against sports teams representing a country which a United Nations commission has concluded is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”
“This is not about politics or taking sides. It’s about justice, humanity and the values sport claims to stand for and not allowing nations to whitewash their illegal and inhumane actions through sport,” Rahman concluded their statement.
Alongside a litany of footballers, professional boxers Ty Mitchell and Zak Chelli, jockey Khadijah Mellah, cricketers Abtaha Maqsood and Ajaz Patel and London-born Illiess Macani, who plays Rugby League for London Broncos. FC Palestino is the first football club, per their official website, to be among the signatories. You can, per the official website, see the full list of 51 names below.
Born in Hong Kong, grew up in Scotland and ethnically Pakistani, Adeel primes himself to be a multicultural individual who is an advent social media user for the purpose of learning and propagating Islam while is also a sports fan. Being an English teacher himself, he envisions a bright future for Muslims which he strongly believes can only be done with education.
Adeel Malik
