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Football fans worldwide are unequivocally challenging FIFA’s continued support for Israel, organizing with unprecedented unity for Palestine. Unlike previous actions, this mobilization is now notably well-coordinated, widespread and consistent.
Long gone are the days when much of the sport’s solidarity emerged from the fanbase of Glasgow Celtic, Chile’s Deportivo Palestino or Arab teams. Gaza is now the undisputed focal point of sports solidarity worldwide. The consequences of this are arguably the most significant in terms of achieving global awareness of the Israeli genocide in Gaza in particular, but also of the Israeli military occupation and apartheid in the whole of occupied Palestine.
For years, the mainstream media did its utmost to ignore the pro-Palestine flags, banners and chants. When solidarity exceeded tolerable levels, whether in Scotland or Chile, football’s authorities cracked down with fines and various other punitive measures. Nowadays, however, such tactics are utterly failing. At times, Celtic Park seems to be one massive pro-Palestine rally, while numerous other clubs are joining in or expanding their efforts.
In and around Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League final match against Inter Milan on May 31, it seemed as if the entire PSG supporters’ activities focused on Palestine. Chants of “Nous sommes tous les enfants de Gaza” (We are all the children of Gaza) echoed everywhere, inside and outside the stadium. As soon as Achraf Hakimi scored the opening goal, a massive banner was unfurled that read: “Stop the genocide in Gaza.”
In and around the Champions League final, it seemed as if the entire PSG supporters’ activities focused on Palestine
Ramzy Baroud
Such unprecedented acts of solidarity are comparable to the sporting boycotts of apartheid South Africa, which began in the mid-1960s. These boycotts were instrumental in liberating the discourse and transforming the conversation about apartheid from academic halls into the streets.
While the above is true, the two cases are not always comparable. Regarding apartheid, thanks to the efforts of Global South governments, boycotts largely began at an institutional level and gradually garnered massive popular support. In the Palestinian case, however, there has been a complete moral breakdown on the part of institutions like FIFA, while football fans are the ones championing solidarity.
FIFA is yet to take any action against Israel despite the blatant racism within its sporting institutions and the direct harm it is doing to Palestinian sports. The go-to excuse is the slogan: “sports and politics don’t mix.” But if that is the case, why did FIFA seamlessly mix the two following the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
Almost immediately after the start of the war, Western countries, purporting to speak on behalf of the international community, began slapping hundreds, and eventually thousands, of sanctions on Russia, which found itself isolated in every arena, including sports. FIFA quickly joined in, banning the Russian national team from its competitions.
In the Palestinian case, the hypocrisy is limitless, even though it began long before the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Every Palestinian effort, often backed by Arab, Muslim and Global South associations, to hold Israel accountable for its apartheid and military occupation has been met with failure. Every time, the response is the same.
An October 2017 statement by FIFA is a case in point. It was a response to a final report by the FIFA Monitoring Committee Israel-Palestine, which followed repeated requests by international groups to look into the matter of the Israeli occupation and the need for FIFA to hold Israel accountable.
In the Palestinian case, there has been a complete moral breakdown on the part of institutions like FIFA
Ramzy Baroud
The response was decisive: “The current situation … has nothing to do with football.” It is of “exceptional complexity and sensitivity” and cannot be “changed unilaterally by nongovernment organizations such as FIFA.” The “final status of the West Bank territories” is the concern of competent international public law authorities. It concluded that “FIFA … must remain neutral with regard to political matters,” adding that the association will “refrain from imposing any sanctions” on Israel and that “the matter is declared closed.”
Since then, so much has changed. For example, in July 2018, Israel declared itself a country for Jews only via the so-called nation-state law. In July 2020, the coalition government agreed a deal that allowed for the annexation of occupied areas within the West Bank. And since Oct. 7, 2023, it has been engaged in a genocide in Gaza.
The accusatory language this time is not that of the Palestinians and their allies. It is the language of international institutions, which are actively investigating Israel’s horrific violations in Gaza.
Though FIFA may still claim that the matter is too “complex” and “sensitive,” how can it ignore the fact that more than 700 Palestinian athletes were killed and some 270 sports facilities destroyed in the first 14 months of the war?
Here, something must be said about the tenacity of the Palestinians, a quality that does not hinge on FIFA’s action or inaction. The Palestine national football team continues to go from strength to strength and, even more impressively, Palestinian children in Gaza somehow manage to create spaces, even among the ruins of their cities, to kick a ball, thus stealing a moment of joy from the horrors of genocide.
Though FIFA continues to fail Palestine, sports fans refuse to be part of this moral travesty. Ultimately, it will be the tenacity of the Palestinians and the growing solidarity with their just cause that will force FIFA to take action, not only for the sake of Palestine or even the future of the sport, but for the organization’s own relevance.
- Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappe, is “Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out.” His other books include “My Father was a Freedom Fighter” and “The Last Earth.” He is a nonresident senior research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs. His website is . X: @RamzyBaroud