FIFA has refused to ban Israel in international sports in spite of the increasing calls on the association to ban Israel amidst the Gaza war. When FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently convened a council meeting in Zurich, he opposed the inclusion of the issue of the status of Israel on the agenda on the basis that football should unite, but not separate. He argued that FIFA should not and is unable to deal with any geopolitical issues but should serve the sport with its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values.
FIFA Turns a Blind Eye On Israel, Russia Already Banned
This ruling is a stark contrast to FIFA in the past, the association prohibited Russia to compete in any international tourism in 2022 soon after its invasion of Ukraine. The divergence is pointing to the fact that imposing political sanctions in sport is a controversial issue, particularly where the stake of the big geopolitical interests is involved. Infantino individually had a meeting with the leader of the Palestinian Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, and complimented his strength, though nothing new on discipline and no date set on inquiries in Israel taking part in matches in occupied Palestinian controlled land. There are now strong divisions within the world football institutions. Norway and Turkey urged UEFA to vote on suspending Israel. According to some insiders, such a motion would have succeeded were FIFA to have encouraged it. At the same time, the United States, which is among the co hosts of the upcoming world cup, has indicated its willingness to support the position of Israel in world football, thus watering down the effectiveness of disciplinary actions.
Israel Plays In The Upcoming World Cup Qualifiers
The national team of Israel still plays in the upcoming world cup qualifiers in Norway and Italy despite the mounting pressure to take responsibility. Critics observe that FIFA does not specify a time date within which their investigations will be completed and this silence is perceived as a kind of complicity by many so that Israel continues to carry out its activities without interruption. In a way, FIFA position is an embodiment of the tense collision of sports governance and geopolitical matters. Although inflection events of previous rulings by the banning of Russia indicate that sporting organizations are capable of taking action, the inconsistency in the treatment in this case highlights the effectiveness of alliances, power, and influence that usually define whether a country will be punished or not. FIFA has not been keen on acting in the interests of its neutral mission but rather as a result of pressure by powerful states that have allied with Israel, thus giving critics the view that FIFA is not acting fairly or selectively in regard to human rights.
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