Infantino Calls for Unity Amid Calls to Suspend Israel
Amid growing international calls to suspend Israeli football teams, FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that the entity must promote peace and unity, and that it cannot solve political problems. The FIFA council meeting, led by Infantino, took place at a tense moment for football politics. Israel was not formally on the agenda for the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches, which will resume next week. The strongest pressure against Israeli teams from European football leaders stopped after a peace proposal presented at the White House by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Infantino emphasized to the council of 37 members “the importance of promoting peace and unity, particularly in the context of the current situation in Gaza”, according to a FIFA press release, which did not make direct reference to Israel. FIFA did not schedule a press conference and Infantino was not available for interviews. The Israeli men’s team is scheduled to travel to play World Cup qualifying matches against Norway in Oslo on October 11 and Italy in Udine three days later. Norway was among the European football federations urging UEFA to call a vote of its executive committee before the FIFA meeting in Zurich on the suspension of Israeli teams from international competitions. Turkey’s football body directly asked UEFA and FIFA to suspend Israel. Any vote by UEFA’s 20-member panel appeared likely to pass, according to people familiar with the discussions, despite opposition from members in Israel and Germany. The FIFA meeting was attended by Ceferin and the head of the group of European football clubs, Nasser al-Khelaifi, who is president of Paris Saint-Germain, the current Champions League champion owned by Qatar. Al-Khelaifi is also a member of the Qatari government. The head of the Palestinian Football Federation, Jibril Rajoub, was also in Switzerland this week and met on Thursday with the President of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry.“FIFA cannot solve geopolitical problems, but it can and must promote football worldwide by leveraging its unifying, educational, cultural, and humanitarian values.”
Gianni Infantino, FIFA President
