UEFA delay vote on suspending Israel amid Donald Trump's attempts to end war in Gaza with 20-point plan

UEFA had been set to make a decision on banning Israel, with The Times reporting "a large majority of executive members and federations are in favour of suspension." Russia has previously been banned from European football since the 2022 due to the invasion of Ukraine and a vote was due to be held due to Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Plans to vote on Israel have now been put on hold in the wake of Trump unveiling a new peace plan, according to Sky News. European football leaders now believe it is not the right time to hold a vote, and potentially impose sanctions on Israel, while peace talks are taking place. Trump has said his plan is an "an amazing thing" and has given Hamas a deadline of "three or four days" to respond.

Israel are currently scheduled to play World Cup 2026 qualifiers in October against Norway in Oslo and Italy in Udine. If the vote does not take place, then Israel will be able to go ahead with the fixtures as planned. 

Norwegian FA president Lise Klavenes, who is also part of UEFA's executive committee, has previously called for Israel to be kicked out of European competition. She told Norwegian podcast Pop and Politics: "I work on the issue from a principled standpoint, but we will not boycott on our own. A boycott would only result in Israel going to the World Cup instead of us. In general, we are now working for Israel to be sanctioned. We believe that they should be, and this is about upholding the rules. Personally, I believe that since Russia is out, Israel should also be out. As a football president you can have personal opinions, and I certainly have mine. It is, first of all, incredibly difficult to play against a country where the word genocide is involved, because after all, it is still their flag and national anthem that are present."

A group of United Nations experts have also called on UEFA and FIFA to ban Israel from all international football due to the ongoing conflict. A statement read: “The conclusion of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, that Israel is committing genocide is the latest in a growing number of international bodies affirming that genocide is being committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The ICJ’s Interim Order of 26 January 2024 reminded every country of its legal obligations to act against genocide.

“Sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual. Sporting bodies must not turn a blind eye to grave human rights violations, especially when their platforms are used to normalise injustices.

"We are clear that the boycott must be addressed to the State of Israel and not to individual players. We have always maintained that individuals cannot bear the consequences of the decisions their government makes, so there should be no discrimination or sanctions against individual players because of their origin or nationality National teams representing States that commit massive human rights violations can and should be suspended, as has happened in the past."

Israel will be able to play at World Cup 2026 even if a UEFA ban does materialise, according to the Guardian. Any suspension would only be from competitions controlled by UEFA, meaning men's and women's teams would be banned from the Nations League and Maccabi Tel Aviv would exit the Europa League. Yet as the World Cup is a FIFA competition, Israel would be able to play if they qualify. The team currently sit in third place in Group 1, six points behind Norway and level on points with Italy but having played a game more than the Azzurri.