Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Europe Regional Director, has declared it unacceptable for the Israeli men’s national football team to participate in the upcoming UEFA Nations League group stage. The tournament features matches against Ireland, Kosovo, and Austria during the international window running from September 24 to October 6.
Cockburn stated that despite clear evidence of the Israel Football Association (IFA) supporting illegal settlements, UEFA is providing Israel with an international platform while continuing its military occupation of Palestinian land. He argued that this participation legitimizes what he described as a system of apartheid and ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Instead of imposing consequences for these actions, he claimed UEFA is enabling them.
The director asserted that FIFA and UEFA should have suspended the IFA’s membership long ago due to its refusal to exclude clubs located in illegal settlements within occupied Palestinian territory. He noted that continued participation violates FIFA statutes and international law. Furthermore, he warned that funding flowing from these organizations to the IFA risks sustaining illegal settlements and human rights violations.
Cockburn emphasized that sports should never serve as propaganda for states committing atrocities. While the Israeli team travels to Europe, he said Palestinian families are being displaced, stripped of property, and having olive trees uprooted by settlers backed by the Israeli army. He called on fans to demand accountability and fair play rather than remaining passive observers.
Israel competes in League B of the fifth edition of the Nations League. The group stage consists of two windows: the first from September 24 to October 6, and the second from November 12 to 17, 2026. Matches between Ireland and Israel are scheduled for September 27 and October 4.
Ireland has seen widespread public opposition to Israel’s participation through the “Stop the Game” campaign. Various football associations, players, unions, artists, and politicians have called for sanctions or boycotts. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) formally requested UEFA to consider suspending Israel. However, UEFA approved the matches to proceed at neutral venues in Hungary and Serbia behind closed doors without spectators.
In October 2025, Amnesty International urged FIFA and UEFA to suspend the IFA unless settlement clubs were immediately removed from domestic leagues. In March 2026, FIFA announced it would take no action regarding these clubs. Amnesty criticized this stance as indirectly legitimizing the occupation and ignoring the 2024 International Court of Justice advisory opinion. Following FIFA’s rejection of complaints from the Palestine Football Association, the latter filed a case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
A recent Amnesty report titled “Erasing All That Is Palestinian” details how the current Israeli government has made annexation official policy, accelerating ethnic cleansing and settler violence in the West Bank.
This report was produced by the HuMedia newsroom.
