Moroccan international Hakim Ziyech, alongside over 50 professional athletes from various countries, including France’s Paul Pogba, has signed a petition urging that Israel be barred from all international sporting competitions, according to media reports.
The call intensified after the United Nations commission of inquiry formally declared that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, urging the country’s suspension from international football competitions.
The athletes, in the petition, stressed their commitment to justice and human rights, urging the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and other international bodies to suspend Israel from competitions until international law is upheld and civilians are protected.
Media reports noted that UEFA is reportedly preparing to vote on suspending Israel over the Gaza war, according to sources cited by The Associated Press.
A majority of its 20-member executive committee is expected to support the move, which would bar Israeli national and club teams from international competitions, including next year’s World Cup.
With the 2026 World Cup in North America approaching, voices calling for the Israeli national team to be withdrawn from the tournament over the Israel-Palestine conflict have grown louder, including Manchester United, French legend Eric Cantona, and the Spanish government.
This call is to take a move similar to the one taken against Russia, the only country currently banned from competing over the Ukraine conflict.
The Times reports that a vote could take place as early as next week, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actively campaigning against it.
Meanwhile, the US State Department has pledged to oppose any attempt to prevent Israel from potentially qualifying for the World Cup, which will be held in the United States.
Rephrase in a different way as if you were a native American speaker as a content creation expert and do not talk about yourself or your experience in the text and do not show yourself as an artificial intelligence who wrote and fill the bullet point in the topic and speak the heart of the topic itself and dont take date of blog in ther first and dont take text like box of newsliter subscribe on post from content and romove all linke insert in content and and remove all affiliate disclosure phrases on content like this “This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links that allow us to earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please see our Disclosure Policy for more info” and “#” put in its place bullet point, and romove name of the web site or his links we are take a content from our new creation, and don’t publish clone new content more than just one time
