Amnesty International criticizes FIFA for continuing to permit Israeli clubs’ participation News
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Amnesty International criticizes FIFA for continuing to permit Israeli clubs’ participation

Amnesty International on Friday said that FIFA’s refusal to take action against the Israeli Football Association (IFA) over the participation of clubs based in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) flouts international law.

In October 2024 FIFA accepted a Palestinian Football Association (PFA) petition to investigate alleged human rights violations and discrimination within the IFA. Following the investigation, FIFA on Thursday issued a fine against the IFA of 150,000 Swiss Francs ($190,700 USD). FIFA found that the IFA failed to take meaningful action against persistent and well-documented racist behavior.

FIFA did not accept the PFA’s proposal to suspend the IFA , stating that the “legal status of the West Bank remains an unresolved and highly complex matter under public international law.”

Steve Cockburn, head of economic and social justice issues at Amnesty International stated:

By continuing to condone the presence of clubs based in illegal settlements in the OPT in Israel’s league, the Israeli Football Association is indirectly legitimizing Israel’s unlawful occupation and its severe human rights violations against Palestinians, including the crime against humanity of apartheid. FIFA must not continue to ignore the International Court of Justice’s 2024 Advisory Opinion. FIFA has an unequivocal responsibility to act. It must also ensure full transparency and publish the legal advice FIFA received on this matter and provide the full rationale for its unjust decision.

The Israeli occupation of the OPT, which includes the West Bank, has been declared illegal by the UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In July 2024, the ICJ ruled in an advisory opinion that the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful. In the opinion, the court stated that Israel must “cease immediately all new settlement activities, and…evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

FIFA has a history of suspending clubs from participation due to violations of international law. On February 28th, 2022, four days after the start of Russia’s “Special Military Operation” in Ukraine, FIFA suspended all Russian teams from participation in FIFA competitions until further notice. The FIFA statement pledged that “football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine.” The Court of Arbitration for Sport refused Russia’s request to end FIFA’s suspension of Russian teams in March 2022.

According to Amnesty International, there are at least six football clubs based in the OPT currently playing games in Israeli leagues. Article 64.2 of FIFA’s statutes states that “member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter’s approval.”

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