Europe’s football governing body UEFA has put plans for a vote on suspending Israel on hold to give US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ‘peace plan’ a chance to work.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) had planned to hold an emergency meeting of its executive committee this week with a large majority of members understood to be in favour of a ban on Israeli teams from competing over Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
However, amid Israeli alarm over the planned ban, pro-Palestine activists and football fans have been left disappointed that UEFA have now decided to wait until the latest peace plan plays out before going ahead on a vote.
President Trump called it “potentially one of the great days ever in civilisation” as he laid out his administration’s 20-point proposal for an end to Israel’s war on Gaza on September 29.
The plan calls for Israel to release 250 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences, as well as 1,700 Palestinians detained since the start of the war, in exchange for Hamas freeing 48 Israeli hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Hamas members can be granted amnesty after that if they “commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons”.
Israel will gradually withdraw from Gaza as a temporary “International Stabilisation Force” (ISF), led by Arab partners, takes over security in the besieged enclave, according to the plan.
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Meanwhile, a Palestinian committee, overseen by an international body dubbed the “Board of Peace,” will run Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is ready to take over.
The proposal recognises the aspiration for a Palestinian state and tries to present a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
In statements alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said, “We are beyond very close.”
Eight Muslim and Arab nations have announced their backing for Trump’s Gaza plan, and UEFA chiefs reportedly now believe it would not be the right time to implement a ban — “though that threat is still there if Israel continues its actions in Gaza,” claimed The Times.
Israel and UEFA
Originally part of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after its founding in 1954, Israel was expelled and forced to join European football largely due to Arab and Muslim teams refusing to play against Israelis.
UEFA has provided Israel a safe space to compete without facing boycotts, although there have been regular protests outside stadiums which host Israel’s national team in the past.
If a ban does come into effect, it would be damaging to Israel’s image and would further isolate Israel as a global pariah not just politically, as is happening at the UN, but also culturally.
Muslim athletes and Muslim-majority countries often refuse to compete against Israeli opponents not just in football, but in other sports including at the Olympics due to Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people.
The death toll in Gaza has reached 66,097, the majority of whom were women and children, since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war began in October 2023. At least 168,536 others have also been injured.
This toll remains incomplete, as many victims remain trapped under rubble, inaccessible to ambulance and rescue crews.
Local Palestinian sources stated that 42 bodies and 190 injured individuals were brought to hospitals in Gaza in the past 24 hours.
