Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Must Demonstrate a Commitment to Universal Human Rights by Banning the United States and Israel from Hosting or Participating in International Sporting Events

The United States has become dangerous for members of the global community, and specifically for non-white/non-European people. The world is witnessing massive violations of human rights and the Constitution of the United States as masked agents using unmarked vehicles raid work places, homes, and places of public assembly to incarcerate and disappear Black, Brown, and Indigenous people and, in too many cases, denying them legal representation and basic information as to their whereabouts and wellbeing to their families and attorneys.

Under the current U.S administration anyone suspected of residing in and/or visiting the United States with or without “proper” documentation, including U.S. citizens, are being harassed, questioned about their political beliefs and even detained without due process. This repressive environment has created a sense of insecurity and anxiety for travelers to the U.S. including students, and even some diplomats of “foreign nations.” Even individuals while in transit to other countries have been subjected to harassment and intimidation.

But this is just part of the story.

The State of Israel, with direct assistance from the United States, is committing gross and profound violations of human rights and international law through military adventures, and carrying out an ongoing genocide in addition to other war crimes including, but not limited to collective punishment and starvation. This is on top of Israel’s eight decade pogrom of apartheid against the Palestinian people, as well as a perpetual disregard for the sovereignty and self determination of the Lebanese, Yemeni, Syrian, and Iranian people and their respective governments and bodies of leadership. The global community, everyday, witnesses Israel’s wanton slaughter of people and pillage of lives with the full endorsement of the United States which continues to fund, arm, and promote Israel’s tactics of terror and barbarity.

Both FIFA and the IOC have previously denied the hosting of, and participation in international events for nations and governments who have acted in ways they deem antithetical to their stated core values of human rights, anti-discrimination and global sustainability. For instance, both IOC and FIFA banned Germany and Japan from international competition following the second world war. Additionally, IOC banned the Republic of South Africa from participating in the Olympic Games from 1964 to 1992 due to the nation’s racist system of apartheid, and FIFA banned the nation from participating in its matches between 1961 and 1992 for the same reason. And, more recently, the IOC has instituted a standing ban on the Russian Federation from participating in its summer and winter games due to what is deemed an illegal invasion and occupation of Ukraine.

This raises the question as to why FIFA and IOC are affording the United States and the State of Israel with preferential treatment over other nations who have been and are currently sanctioned and banned from competition and the hosting of international sporting events for violations of the core values of both bodies.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, as members of the global community and people/institutions of conscience demand that FIFA and IOC withdraw the United States and the State of Israel from hosting or participating in international competition events until such time that both nations demonstrate a willingness to adhere to each agency’s core values and further operate in ways that adhere to international law and human rights.

No sports-washing genocide, war crimes and apartheid.
Call on FIFA and IOC to ban USA and Israel

La Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) et le Comité International Olympique (CIO) doivent manifester leur engagement en faveur des droits humains universels en excluant les États-Unis et Israël de l’organisation et de la participation à des manifestations sportives internationales

Les États-Unis sont devenus une menace pour les membres de la communauté internationale, en particulier pour les personnes non blanches/non européennes. Le monde assiste à des violations massives des droits humains et de l’état de droit ancré dans la constitution des États-unis : alors que des agents masqués à bord de véhicules banalisés font irruption sur les lieux de travail, les domiciles et les lieux publics pour arrêter et faire disparaître des personnes noires, racisées et autochtones, refusant dans de trop nombreux cas à leurs familles et à leurs avocats l’accès à un·e représentant·e légal et à des informations élémentaires quant à leur sort et leur état de santé.

Sous l’administration États-Uniennes actuelle, toute personne soupçonnée de résider ou de séjourner aux États-Unis avec ou sans papiers en règle, y compris des citoyen·nes états-unien·nes légalement documenté·es, est harcelée, interrogée sur ses opinions politiques et même détenue sans procédure légale. Ce climat répressif a créé un sentiment d’insécurité et d’anxiété chez des personnes voyageant aux États-Unis, y compris les étudiant·es, et même chez certain·es diplomates de nations étrangères. Même des personnes en transit vers d’autres pays ont été victimes de harcèlement et d’intimidation.

Mais ce n’est qu’une partie de l’histoire.

L’État d’Israël, avec l’aide directe des États-Unis, commet des violations flagrantes et sévères des droits humains et du droit international à travers ses opérations militaires, et perpétue un génocide en plus de mener d’autres crimes de guerre, incluant, mais sans s’y limiter, des punitions collectives et l’utilisation de la famine comme une arme de guerre. Ce n’est que le point d’orgue des huit décennies d’apartheid perpétré par Israël contre le peuple palestinien, ainsi que de son mépris perpétuel pour la souveraineté et l’autodétermination des peuples libanais, yéménite, syrien et iranien et de leurs gouvernements et dirigeants respectifs. La communauté internationale est chaque jour témoin du massacre arbitraire de civils et du saccage de vies humaines par Israël, avec le soutien total des États-Unis, qui continuent de financer, d’armer et de promouvoir les tactiques terroristes et barbares d’Israël.

Tant la FIFA que le CIO ont par le passé refusé d’accueillir ou de participer à des événements internationaux organisés par des nations ou des gouvernements ayant agi d’une manière jugée contraire aux valeurs fondamentales défendues par ces organisations, à savoir les droits humains, la lutte contre la discrimination et la durabilité à l’échelle mondiale. Par exemple, tant le CIO que la FIFA ont interdit à l’Allemagne et au Japon de participer à des compétitions internationales après la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Ailleurs, le CIO a interdit à la République d’Afrique du Sud de participer aux Jeux olympiques entre 1964 et 1992 en raison du système raciste d’apartheid en vigueur dans ce pays. De son côté, la FIFA a interdit à ce pays de participer à ses matchs entre 1961 et 1992 pour la même raison. Plus récemment, le CIO a interdit à la Fédération de Russie de participer à ses jeux d’été et d’hiver en raison de ce qu’elle considère être une invasion et une occupation illégales de l’Ukraine.

Cela soulève la question suivante : pourquoi la FIFA et le CIO accordent-ils un traitement préférentiel aux États-Unis et à l’État d’Israël, alors que d’autres nations ont été ou sont actuellement sanctionnées et interdites de compétition et d’organisation d’événements sportifs internationaux pour avoir violé les valeurs fondamentales de ces deux instances ?

Par conséquent, nous, soussigné·es, en tant que membres de la communauté mondiale et personnes/institutions de conscience, exigeons que la FIFA et le CIO excluent les États-Unis et l’État d’Israël de l’organisation ou de la participation à des compétitions internationales jusqu’à ce que ces deux nations démontrent leur volonté d’adhérer aux valeurs fondamentales de chaque agence et d’agir de manière conforme au droit international et aux droits humains.

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Take one minute to write to UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin concerning the double standard taken by UEFA in regard to Russia and Israel.

On Friday, July 15th the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld those decisions by UEFA and FIFA which exclude Russian national teams and clubs.

It is clear that when the UEFA wants to take action to exclude a country and its players, it can act swiftly to do so. Hours after the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, the UEFA almost immediately acted to exclude Russian teams, followed quickly by FIFA. These measures mirrored the official actions of various European Union governments. In regard to Russia, the UEFA initiated action within hours following Russian forces moving into the Ukraine, and FIFA quickly followed.

At the same time, for many years, the IFA has been in serious breach of FIFA’s own statutes as they relate to human rights, anti-discrimination, and equality for the promotion of football in a globally accessible and unifying manner. This shows that UEFA and FIFA have a double standard: when they want to act due to their own political considerations, and when they do not want to act.

FIFA has failed repeatedly for many years to address the Palestinian Football Association’s (PFA) documented complaints.

What took hours and days in the case of Russia, lingers after decades without action in regard to justice for Palestinian football.

We look to the UEFA to act swiftly to put an end to these ongoing violations against Palestinian football and to kick out apartheid football. We will not accept double standards. UEFA and FIFA must end their complicity with apartheid, especially given IFA is one of UEFA’s members.

The State of Israel’s brutal occupation makes the realization of the stated objectives of the UEFA and FIFA impossible, as Israel continues to systematically practice ethnic cleansing and segregation against more than five million Palestinians suffering under its military occupation.

On September 9, 2016, members of European Parliament called on FIFA to hold IFA accountable.

Why the double standards? Why the hypocrisy? Why the lack of accountability in regard to Israel?

Sports Washing Underway Leading up to the World Cup

Beyond the regular games, teams in France, Italy, the UK, Spain and other member associations of the UEFA continue to accept sports washing invitations by Israel.

These include

·     the Tournament of Champions where Paris Saint-Germain, champion of France 2022, and FC Nantes, winner of the Coupe de France 2022, is scheduled for Sunday July 31, at the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv

·     the July 30 invitation where Tottenham Hotspur and AS Roma have accepted to play at Sami Ofer Stadium in Haifa, and

·     Juventus – Atletico Madrid on 7th August at the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel

These are certainly not “friendly” matches. Instead, these matches show the outright hypocrisy of the UEFA and its member associations in regard to the flagrant disregard for FIFA’s own statues and the UEFA’s disregard for the very same rules that it claims to have hastily applied against Russia.

Football clubs within Palestine and around the world, supporter/fan clubs in Europe and elsewhere, and civil society and human rights groups around the world have spoken out against theseis flagrant double standards and ignoring of sports-washing of human rights violations, international law and racism.

Indication that any issues related to the FIFA and UEFA stance that the Israeli Football Association’s (IFA) behaviour is political, if ever valid, was negated when FIFA and the UEFA on February 28, 2022 suspended Russia from international competition. This double standard reeks of hypocrisy.

In french

FIFA has to date not responded. We hope for more from the UEFA, the confederation in which the IFA plays.

We call on the UEFA to invoke the responsibilities and provisions within the UEFA Statutes to hold the Israeli Football Association (IFA) accountable by implementing sanctions against the IFA, and that you insist that FIFA follow your lead.

Sports and other Organizations can join the campaign https://bit.ly/ApartheidFreeFIFAOrgs

Athletes and other individuals can join the campaign: https://bit.ly/ApartheidFreeFIFAIndiv

UEFA Kick Out Apartheid initiated by:

Friends of Sabeel North America

Just Peace Advocates

Canadian BDS Coalition

Palestine and Jewish Unity

Samidoun

Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe

Collectif Palestine Vaincra

Samidoun Région Parisienne

Firma la Iniciativa Ciudadana Europea de prohibir el comercio entre la UE y asentamientos de los Territorios Ocupados

Kick Out Apartheid. See list of sponsoring organizations

Watch webinar and learn more about FIFA Kick Out Apartheid

#UEFAKickOutApartheid

#FIFAKickOutApartheid

The following letter was sent to the UEFA (Download letter)