Soccer-Israel facing potential UEFA suspension vote as political pressure mounts

(Reuters) -UEFA appears poised for an emergency vote on suspending Israel from European competition next week, with national federations scrambling to position themselves amid mounting political pressure following calls for action.

The brewing crisis intensified this week when United Nations experts called for Israel's suspension from international football amid the unfolding genocide in occupied Palestinian territory.

A source confirmed that Europe's soccer body could potentially decide next week to vote on whether to suspend Israel from European competition.

Should UEFA vote to ban Israel, it would put the organisation on a collision course with the government of the United States -- co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup -- which is vehemently against such a motion.

"We will absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel's national soccer team from the World Cup," a spokesperson for the U.S. state department told Sky News.

But even though UEFA has the power to suspend Israel or its clubs from their competitions, it may not be able to stop them from competing in World Cup qualifiers, which fall under the ambit of global soccer body FIFA.

The general secretaries of all UEFA national associations are meeting this week in Marbella, where Israel is not officially on the agenda, but officials expect UEFA to call an emergency vote next week.

FIFA did not respond to a Reuters request for comment while UEFA declined to comment.

Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub said Israelis should not be allowed to participate in any matches, whether they are under UEFA or FIFA.

"Israel has violated the principles, values and FIFA's statutes. Therefore, I believe that Israel should be sanctioned," Rajoub told TV2.

"The sanctions should come from UEFA and FIFA."

WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

Israel's national team are set to face Norway and Italy, the top two teams in their World Cup qualifying group, next month.

"We don't have any indications that we are facing such an act (UEFA suspension)," a spokesperson for the Israel Football Association told Reuters.

"We are focusing on our international matches against Norway and Italy."

Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) is one of the member associations that have been the driving force behind calling for a meeting on the Israel situation. The NFF declined to comment.

Lise Klaveness, the president of the NFF and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, has also been vocal about the crisis in Gaza ahead of her country's home game against Israel on October 11.

"Neither we nor other organisations can remain indifferent to the humanitarian suffering and disproportionate attacks that the civilian population in Gaza has been subjected to for a long time," Klaveness said in a statement last month.

"We want to donate the proceeds (from the game) to a humanitarian organisation that saves lives in Gaza every day and provides active emergency aid on the ground."

The Dutch football federation (KNVB) said it knows nothing about a vote to suspend Israel.

"As soon as the football association receives a message about this, it will take a position," the KNVB told Dutch outlet NOS.

Last week, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Israel should be banned from international sports competitions. However, officials from the Spanish FA (RFEF) have kept a low profile on the matter.

Israel maintains that its war is not against the population of Gaza but against the Hamas militant group whose fighters led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and precipitated the war.

The subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people, according to local health officials.

(Reporting by Fernando Kallas, Rohith Nair and Julien Pretot; editing by Pritha Sarkar)