UEFA and FIFA shelve Israel’s expulsion over Trump’s proposed Gaza peace plan

The comprehensive plan presented by Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza has provided, for the moment, the perfect excuse for UEFA and FIFA to postpone Israel’s exclusion from all international competitions. To this end, the two most important organizations in world football began informal talks two weeks ago, fueled by the social pressure generated by the global amplification of the pro-Palestine protests during the Vuelta a España, the announcement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of the suspension of trade agreements with the Jewish state, and the ferocity of the Israeli army’s attacks in the Strip.

The issue was uncomfortable for both FIFA and UEFA due to Israel’s geopolitical and economic influence. The European body, led by its president, Aleksander Ceferin, attempted to rally support among European federations to convene its executive committee to implement the sanction against Israel, but faced opposition from some of the larger ones. According to sources close to UEFA, Germany, which does not recognize the state of Palestine, was one of the staunchest opponents of Israel’s exclusion. The Spanish federation has not commented on its position. Among the federations in favor of expulsion, Turkey led the attempt to gather countries willing to carry the sanction out.

Both UEFA and FIFA needed — in addition to the breeding ground of sanctions from the international community — national federations and clubs to refuse to play against Israeli teams, as was the case with Russia in 2022. Otherwise, they risked the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne ruling in favor of Israel and having to reinstate it.

Without the UEFA Executive Committee being convened, the ball was passed to FIFA, whose council, which includes Ceferin as vice president, is meeting this Thursday. Trump’s comprehensive plan has meant that the hypothetical exclusion of Israel has not been included in the agenda. For FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the decision to expel Israel was also fraught due to his close friendship with Trump and the proximity of the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Maccabi Tel Aviv, which plays this Thursday against Dinamo Zagreb in Back Topola, Serbia, is the only Israeli club competing in a European football tournament. The Israeli national team is immersed in the qualifying phase for the 2026 World Cup and faces Norway on October 11 in Oslo. The match risks being a powerful focus of protests against Israel’s offensive in Gaza and renewed calls for the two largest organizations in world football to exclude its soccer teams. This newspaper understands pro-Palestinian groups had planned to demonstrate at the stadium and have not yet ruled out doing so. On May 24, Norway preceded most of Europe, along with Spain and Ireland, in recognizing the state of Palestine. Sweden, in 2014, was one of the few Western countries to have already taken this step. Norway is also home to a significant Palestinian community.

Distrust of Trump’s plan also prompted Amnesty International to send a letter to FIFA and UEFA on Wednesday requesting that they suspend the Israel Football Association from their tournaments until it bans Israeli clubs based in illegal settlements from its domestic leagues. Amnesty International recalled that while the Israeli national team “prepares for World Cup qualifiers against Norway and Italy, Israel continues to perpetrate genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” “More than 800 athletes, players, and sports officials are among the more than 65,000 people Israeli forces have killed in a deliberate campaign of widespread devastation, forced displacement, and starvation of civilians,” said Agnès Callamard, the organization’s secretary general.

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