UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin opened the door to a possible ban of Israel from European soccer competitions in a televised interview earlier this week, saying that “the issue of Israel's (non-)participation in UEFA competitions is a legitimate question.”
During an interview with Slovenia's largest television station Odmevi, the president of Europe’s soccer association stated that “in principle, I am not an advocate of not allowing athletes to compete. In the case of Russia, we see that its athletes have not competed for three and a half years, and the war is even worse than it was.”
“I know that many are opponents of the regime, but they still can't compete. Here, sport is very much intertwined with politics. However, all athletes should have the opportunity to compete, and other things should be resolved differently," he clarified.
During the interview, Ceferin also explained that UEFA decided to allow Israeli teams and the Israeli National Team to compete. “For now, this is our decision. It is very difficult for me to comment on what could happen in the future,” he said.
"I think the time has come when we have to stop pretending that we are a sports organization that lives on another planet,” he also added when asked about recent decisions by UEFA to allow political gestures during matches.
UEFA’s recent steps mark the politicization of soccer
The interview came just a day after UEFA decided to display a banner that said “STOP KILLING CHILDREN - STOP KILLING CIVILIANS,” held by children victims of current conflicts and including Palestinian children, during the Supercup final between Tottenham and PSG.
At the end of the match, Čeferin decided to stand on the podium next to the two Palestinian children who held the signs and hand out the medals while standing with them.
These actions come weeks after the UEFA sparked controversy by posting about the death of soccer player Suleiman al-Obeid, known as the "Palestinian Pele," at an aid distribution site in southern Gaza.
Following a tribute to Obeid by UEFA, Premier League star Mohammed Salah criticized the soccer body for not mentioning the circumstances behind his death.
IDF spokesperson Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani replied to Salah, "After an initial review, we found no records of any incidents involving Suleiman al-Obeid. In order to take a closer look, we need more details."