March 12 – FIFA is facing more pressure from human rights groups over its failure to suspend Israel from international competition.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) and Citizens International have joined forces with 60 organisations from across the world to demand that FIFA ban Israeli teams in the wake of the ongoing atrocities in Gaza.
A letter sent on Monday calls on FIFA to suspend Israel in the same way that it kicked Russia out in response to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. UEFA has already stated that Israel is a different case entirely and that there are no plans to impose sanctions.
To date more than 31,000 people in Gaza are reported to have been killed and the letter states that “while both UEFA and FIFA suspended Russia from all competitions in 2022, they continue to turn a blind eye to Israel with the result that its teams continue to participate freely in international competitions.”
“We are sure you will agree that applying a different yardstick to Israeli actions undermines your credibility and exposes you to allegations of political bias and hypocrisy.”
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