Sources said that the European Football Association (UEFA) is heading towards voting on a resolution to suspend Israel’s membership, against the backdrop of the war on Gaza.

According to a news agency,Associated Press“A majority of the 20-member UEFA Executive Committee is expected to support any vote in favor of suspending the participation of Israeli teams in international matches, two sources told the agency.

This step comes two weeks before the Israeli national team resumes its matches in its group in the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, where it will play against its hosts, Norway and Italy, next month.

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The move will prevent Israeli national teams and clubs from participating in international competitions, including next year’s World Cup, which will be hosted by America, Canada and Mexico.

Support Trump

It is unclear whether FIFA would support Israel’s exclusion, given the close ties between its president Gianni Infantino and President Donald Trump, Israel’s biggest supporter.

The Trump administration’s support for securing the World Cup, processing visas for players, officials and potentially hundreds of thousands of visiting fans, is seen as key to FIFA staging a successful tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year.

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A US State Department spokesman said that the ministry will work to stop any efforts aimed at preventing the Israeli national team from participating in the World Cup.

The FIFA Governing Council is scheduled to meet in Zurich next week. The 37-member council includes eight members from UEFA.

FIFA refused to comment on efforts to exclude Israel. This week, Infantino is staying at the FIFA sub-office in Trump Tower in Manhattan, and attending events on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Increasing calls

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Calls to exclude Israel from football competitions and other sports have increased in recent weeks amid protests over the huge humanitarian losses resulting from its war on Gaza.

Last week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Israel should be banned from participating in international sporting events, just as Russia, which was marginalized after its massive invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was banned.

Earlier this week, seven independent experts working with the UN Human Rights Council called on FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel’s participation in international competitions.

UEFA and its president Aleksander Ceferin showed a tougher stance towards Israel last month when banners reading “Stop killing children. Stop killing civilians” were placed on the pitch in front of Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham before a Super Cup match in Udine, Italy.

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Israel’s isolation

The debate over whether Israel should be banned from international sports comes as Israel faces increasing criticism and isolation over its military campaign in Gaza.

Last week, an investigation committee set up by the United Nations Human Rights Council accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

The office of the Israeli Minister of Sports and Culture, Miki Zohar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the head of the Israeli Football Association, Moshe Zoares, announced on Thursday that they are working “intensively behind the scenes” to obstruct efforts to remove Israel from the European Football Association.

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He added: “The right step now is to deal responsibly with professionals, and not to make statements, and this is what all parties involved in these efforts are doing. We will address this matter later.”

European position

The decision to ban Russia’s participation in 2022 was partly prompted by the refusal of a large number of UEFA member associations to play scheduled matches against Russian opponents.

No national team or European club has yet refused to face an Israeli opponent, although football officials in Norway and Italy have publicly expressed their discomfort in recent weeks.

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The Norwegian Football Association has also pledged to donate its profits from ticket sales for the match in Oslo on October 11 to the humanitarian work carried out by Doctors Without Borders in Gaza.

Italian Gabriele Gravina and Norwegian Lise Klavenes have been elected as members of UEFA’s executive committee, which may vote on whether to suspend Israel’s membership.

Zoares, president of the Israeli Football Association, also participates in the committee, in addition to Nasser Al-Khelaifi, a member of the Qatari government and president of Paris Saint-Germain, the European champion.

Israel angered Qatar, an influential US ally that played the main mediator role throughout the war, by launching an air strike on September 9 targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, the Qatari capital.

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At the Champions League final in May, Paris Saint-Germain fans raised a banner reading, in French, “Stop genocide in Gaza.” UEFA did not open any disciplinary investigation, despite the existence of rules prohibiting political messages inside stadiums.

On Wednesday evening in Greece, the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv played a match against PAOK in the European League organized by the European Football Association. An area outside the stadium in Thessaloniki witnessed pro-Palestinian protests, and a “Stop Genocide” banner was raised inside.

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