Why Israel could be banned from European football next week

UEFA, the governing body of football in Europe, is facing international pressure to suspend Israel from all its competitions. Reports suggest that UEFA could hold an emergency vote next week to decide whether to ban Israel from European football or not. National football associations are expected to vote on this issue.

The big question on everyone’s mind is whether a UEFA ban on Israel would affect their chances of playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. Israel’s men’s team is set to play their World Cup qualifying matches against Norway and Italy on October 11 and 15, respectively.

Why is Israel facing the heat?

This comes after United Nations human rights experts called on UEFA and FIFA for action against Israel due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. Several European football officials and associations have also spoken out against the crisis in the Middle East.

The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) and its president, Lise Klaveness, have highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and criticised the violence against civilians. Klaveness said her country is planning to donate proceeds from its upcoming home game against Israel to help organisations in Gaza.

“Neither we nor other organisations can remain indifferent to the humanitarian suffering and disproportionate attacks that the civilian population in Gaza has been subjected to for a long time. We want to donate the proceeds (from the game) to a humanitarian organisation that saves lives in Gaza every day and provides active emergency aid on the ground,” Klaveness said in a statement last month.

Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub has demanded that Israel should be banned from all matches under both UEFA and FIFA. “Israel has violated the principles, values and FIFA’s statutes. Therefore, I believe that Israel should be sanctioned,” Rajoub told TV2.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said last week that Israel should be banned from all international sporting events. Russia faced similar bans after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, Israel’s case is different because no nation has so far refused to play them.

Why an action against Israel is unlikely?

If UEFA decides to suspend Israel, it could clash with the United States, which is co-hosting the 2026 World Cup and has strongly opposed any ban. A US State Department spokesperson told Sky News, “We will absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel’s national soccer team from the World Cup.”

Even if UEFA bans Israel from European competitions, it may not affect their participation in FIFA events such as World Cup qualifiers. Meanwhile, Israel has said that it is not aware of any vote being planned against them. “We don’t have any indications that we are facing such an act (UEFA suspension),” an Israel Football Association spokesperson told Reuters.

UEFA has not confirmed any plans to suspend Israel at he moment, and FIFA has also not commented.