FIFA calls for peace but ‘can’t solve geopolitical problems’

FIFA has been under pressure to suspend Israel from international football. Copyright 2025, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) called for “peace” in Gaza on Thursday, but “cannot solve geopolitical problems”, according to its president Gianni Infantino, who refrained from responding to growing calls to suspend the Israeli Federation.

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Referring to “the ongoing situation in Gaza” at the opening of the body’s closed-door board meeting, the Italian-Swiss leader felt that “the power of soccer” was to “bring people together in a divided world” by offering “a message of peace and unity”, according to a statement from the organisation.

“FIFA cannot solve geopolitical problems, but it can and must promote football throughout the world by exploiting its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values,” insisted the leader.

There was no mention of Israel or its federation in FIFA’s press release, at a time when there are increasing calls to exclude the national team from international competitions in the midst of the qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup.

Last week, three independent UN experts called on both FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel, citing the “genocide” in Gaza and arguing that “sporting bodies must not turn a blind eye to serious human rights violations”.

Last Friday, Norwegian Football Association boss Lise Klaveness – whose men’s team will host Israel in the World Cup qualifiers on October 11 – said she was working “for Israel to be sanctioned”. “Personally, I think that if Russia is excluded, Israel should also be excluded,” she told a Norwegian podcast.

A few days after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, UEFA and FIFA jointly excluded the Russian national team and clubs from international competitions, a sanction which is still in force.

Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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