European football body Uefa moves towards vote to suspend Israel over war in Gaza
Majority of 20-member executive committee are expected to support banning Israeli teams from international play
Uefa is moving towards a vote to suspend Israel from European football because of its continued war in Gaza, people familiar with the proposal said on Thursday.
A majority of the governing body’s 20-member executive committee were expected to support any vote in favour of suspending Israeli teams, two sources said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Such a step would prevent Israeli national and club teams from playing in international competitions, including next year’s World Cup. Israel’s men’s team are set to resume their World Cup qualifying campaign in two weeks with away games against Norway and Italy.
It was unclear whether Fifa would support excluding Israel given the close relations between the world governing body’s president, Gianni Infantino, and President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration’s support to secure the World Cup, and process visas for players, officials and potentially hundreds of thousands of visiting fans, is seen as key to Fifa delivering a successful tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year.
A State Department spokesman said it would work to stop any efforts that tried to ban Israel’s team from the World Cup.