A coalition of 48 well-known professional athletes has called on UEFA to halt Israel from all football competitions over attacks on Gaza’s Palestinians, Aljazeera reported.
French midfielder Paul Pogba and British cricketer Mohn Ali were among the 48 signers of a statement calling for the suspension of Israel, published under the Athlete 4 Peace Flag.
“As a professional athlete with diverse backgrounds, faiths and beliefs, I believe that sports must support justice, equity and the principles of humanity,” read the statement.
“We, the signatories of Athlete 4 Peace, are calling on UEFA to immediately halt Israel from all competitions until it complies with international law and ends civilian killings and widespread starvation,” the athlete added.
The statement also cited the death of Suleiman Al Obeid, known as Palestine Pele, last month. According to the Palestinian Football Association, Israeli forces were killed when they attacked civilians waiting for humanitarian assistance in southern Gaza.
Hafid Daraj, a well-known al-jazeera reporter, described the move as the first organised and collective step to exclude Israel from global competition with Europe.
He said the goal of the initiative is to prevent the so-called national teams of Israeli clubs and governments from participating in European and World Cup qualifying matches. He added that the action will form part of a cycle of political, economic and cultural pressures on Israel.
Israel has been a full member of UEFA since 1994 after being expelled from the Asian Football Federation 20 years ago with a vote launched by Kuwait and supported by other Arab countries.
UEFA is moving to a vote on whether a male soccer team attempting to qualify for next year’s World Cup, co-hosted by Mexico, the US and Canada, will suspend Israel, on the way.
The 20-member UEFA Control Committee is expected to secure a majority to remove Israel from the game if a vote is called.
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