At the opening of the FIFA Council meeting this Thursday in Zurich, Gianni Infantino sought to calm tensions surrounding the Israeli issue . While calling for "peace" in Gaza, the president of the world football organization declared that FIFA "cannot solve geopolitical problems ," dismissing critics and supporters of suspending Israel. Behind this facade of neutrality, many saw it as a reassuring message addressed both to Jerusalem and to Washington, where the Trump administration, back in power for a year, has promised to oppose head-on any attempt to exclude Israel from international competitions. Yet, despite Infantino's words of reassurance, the issue is far from over: the debate is swelling in the corridors of UEFA and could become one of the most explosive before the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted... in the United States with Mexico and Canada. For several months, calls for sanctions against Israel have been growing in the football world. On September 16, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces were conducting operations in Gaza "with genocidal intent ." In the wake of this, four independent UN experts urged FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel, saying that "sports bodies must not turn a blind eye to serious human rights violations ," while the Israeli Football Association broke its silence earlier in the day .
The parallel with the decision taken against Russia in 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine, is on everyone's mind. Within forty-eight hours, Moscow was banned from all international competitions. Two years later, while more than 60,000 Palestinians have died according to local authorities, neither FIFA nor UEFA have taken the slightest action against Israel. This difference in treatment has become a symbol of the "double standards" denounced by many players in world football. Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Association, was one of the first to break the taboo: "If Russia is excluded, Israel should be too," she declared publicly, a few days before the Norway-Israel match scheduled for October 11. Other leaders, notably in Spain, Ireland, and South Africa, share this line. Even within FIFA, several delegates from Arab and African federations have called for the two investigations into the Israeli federation's behavior to be accelerated. But so far, the bodies headed by Infantino are stalling, deferring decisions to internal committees , a move that many recalls the stalling strategy employed in previous ethics scandals.
Trump ready to step up
For his part, Donald Trump has chosen firmness. The US administration confirmed through a State Department spokesperson that it "will do everything to prevent any attempt to ban Israel from the World Cup ." Washington fears that a suspension of Israel could cause a major diplomatic crisis just months before the draw for the 2026 World Cup, scheduled for Washington, DC, in December. For Trump, this is also a political issue. Defending Israel remains a cornerstone of his electoral base and his foreign policy. According to several diplomatic sources, the White House has already informed UEFA and FIFA that a ban would be perceived as a "political attack on an ally of the United States ." This unconditional support illustrates the new convergence between Zurich and Washington on a highly inflammatory issue. But European football is not immune to the growing pressure. Several clubs and players have spoken out, including Mohamed Salah, who denounced "the massacre of innocents" in Gaza, and more recently Pep Guardiola and Paul Pogba . In Norway, the Federation has decided to donate the proceeds from the match against Israel to Doctors Without Borders, while supporters in various countries are planning symbolic boycott actions.
Human rights NGOs , such as Fair Square and Human Rights Watch, point out that the Israeli FA is already violating FIFA's statutes by organizing matches on occupied Palestinian land and tolerating repeated acts of racism in its domestic competitions. For these organizations, the issue now goes beyond politics: it concerns the very integrity of the world football governance system. As the 2026 World Cup approaches, the pressure is likely to intensify. The next meeting of the UEFA executive committee, scheduled for early December, could address the Israeli issue, even if it is not yet on the agenda. In the corridors of the Nyon headquarters, some are already talking about a possible rift between Western federations and countries of the Global South. For FIFA, the stakes are colossal: maintaining its image as an "apolitical" organization while defending its own statutes, which prohibit any discrimination or human rights violations. Between Donald Trump's offensive diplomacy and growing calls for Israel's suspension, Gianni Infantino is walking a fine line. And the longer the war in Gaza drags on, the harder it will be for both FIFA and UEFA to weather the looming political storm.
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