During Thursday's match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Israeli supporters refused to hold a minute of silence for Valencia flood victims. They even started illegal fireworks.
This came after Spain cancelled arms deal with Israeli company worth billions. Earlier the same fans were filmed chanting racist, genocidal slogans and tearing down pro Palestinian flags of Dutch buildings. Football hooligans then get into fights with locals But if you google ‘Amsterdam’ you’ll see a bunch of headlines about Israelis being targeted in unprovoked attacks and Israel and it's supporters claiming this is akin to Europe’s darkest hour or pogrom for Jews. Both minimising the Holocaust and insulting our intelligence.
Israel’s most senior leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have openly courted far-right football supporters in Israel and have received their violent support in return. The well-documented racism and violence exhibited by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam mirrors the thuggery of the Israeli government in Gaza and Lebanon.
To rid European football of the type of genocidal chanting we saw from Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, Uefa should remind the Israel Football Association of its obligations under article 7(7) of its statutes to stamp out racist behaviour, and impose appropriate sanctions if the IFA does not take action.
The Israeli offensive on Gaza has claimed the lives of of more than 40,000 Palestinian civilians – 16,500 of whom are children and 100,000 injured, not counting the hundreds of thousands still unaccounted for, that has created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
90% of Palestinians are internally displaced and living in inhumane conditions with “no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel.” No functional hospitals. No mosques. No churches. No libraries. No schools. No universities. No bakeries. At this rate, the brutal Israeli regime will soon destroy every aspect of life in Gaza, including its sports.
Remember Israeł has killed 523 athletes in Gaza. Among them, 341 footballers — of whom 91 were children. 64 sports complex have been destroyed — 19 in the occupied West Bank.
Israel is a legally recognised apartheid state, under investigation by the international court of justice (ICJ) and the international criminal court (ICC) for Genøcide and war crimes and is in direct contravention of UN resolutions and international law.
Both the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem and the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (modelled on the anti-apartheid movement) have called for boycotting Israeli sport. Certainly the International Court of Justice verdict was clear in its expectation of the international community “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence” in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
For decades, Palestinians have asked the international community to recognise their daily realities as reincarnated apartheid. In much the same way black South Africans were forcibly removed from lands reclassified and reserved as “Whites Only” areas, and their settlements were bulldozed, Palestinians have watched the illegal and violent annexation of areas for which they now require permits from Israel to re-enter.
And much like the apartheid Bantustans, most Palestinians living in the West Bank have been banished to the desolate and overcrowded Area A, where they are permitted a limited form of self-determination, while Israel has either partial or full control of the remaining 82 percent of the territory.
With a few notable exceptions, our governments and elected representatives continue to toe the official line of Israel – even increasing diplomatic, financial and military support to it despite countless violations of international laws, international humanitarian laws, and UN resolutions.
In the past, FIFA has banned other countries from competing under similar circumstances. South Africa was banned in 1961 due to growing calls from the anti-apartheid movement to boycott South Africa. FIFA and UEFA banned Yugoslavia from playing in the 1992 European cup and the 1994 World Cup following U.N. sanctions amid the Serb-dominated government’s aggression in the Balkans. Most recently, in February of 2022, FIFA and UEFA banned all Russian clubs and national teams “until further notice” because of its war against Ukraine.
However UEFA won't ban Israel despite the ICJ likely genocide ruling. Now even after the trouble caused by Israeli football hooligans in Athens and Amsterdam, and after saying they will show racism the red card and promote fair play, they are complicit in allowing their teams to compete.
While hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are under brutal attack by the IDF, Israel is allowed to continue to compete in football competitions. Israeli players are not neutral - joining the Israeli army is mandatory in order to become a football player in the national team, and Israeli players have proudly posted comments on social media such as “Why haven’t 200 tonnes of bombs already been dropped on Gaza?” and “We’ll erase Gaza permanently.”
The chance to compete on the international stage is a privilege that should be reserved for states that do not commit genocide.There should be no place in sport for those who have served as IDF who are perpetrators of illegal occupation, ethnic cleansing, apartheid, genocide and crimes against humanity. If FIFA/UEFA had any integrity, they would agree with the already 12 nations calling on them both to ban Israel from being allowed to compete in world soccer competitions.
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