In recent weeks, a steady stream of reports claimed that UEFA, the body that governs European soccer, was seriously considering banning Israel from international play. Off the heels of September’s UN commission report that described the death and destruction Israel has wrought in Gaza as a genocide against Palestinians, UEFA finally saw fit to act—well, not to act, but to consider the possibility of acting.
In light of UEFA’s previous reticence to do the thuddingly obvious by banning Israel’s national and club teams from international competition, and thereby to uphold the precedent it had already set with its swift decision to freeze out Russian soccer after the invasion of Ukraine, it came as no surprise when subsequent reports revealed that UEFA’s belated resolve was about as steely as single-ply toilet paper. Firstly, we learned not to expect any imminent action, as all of it was still at the discussion stage. Secondly, FIFA announced that it would recuse itself from the matter entirely, leaving it all up to UEFA. Thirdly, we discovered that UEFA’s proposed ban would apply narrowly, only to UEFA competitions like the Euros and the Europa League, which would still allow Israel play in next summer’s World Cup should they qualify—a decision no doubt inspired to some extent by the U.S. State Department saying it would fight any attempts to lock Israel out from the U.S.-hosted event. And finally, in spite of all that alleged momentum toward even a token punishment for Israel’s belligerence and flouting of international law, UEFA more or less backed down completely, deciding against doing anything itself and to instead wait to see if the rumors of a breakthrough in the war’s peace talks came through. With last Friday’s ceasefire agreement, and the prospect of a more permanent end to Israel’s war on the horizon, it is likely that any sanctions are now off the table.
