UEFA president says he’s against banning ‘Israeli’ clubs from competition

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has voiced his opposition to excluding ‘Israeli’ clubs from European football competitions, arguing that sports should not be used as a political tool.

“What’s happening with civilians there is personally hurting, killing me. It’s impossible to see these things anymore,” Čeferin said in an interview with Politico.

“Mohamed, who was giving the medals with me [at the Super Cup], lost his mother and his father. And he was heavily injured. I’ve never seen a child hugging me so much as he did. He needs love. He doesn’t need another bomb on his head because of a geopolitical interest. So it’s far from politics,” Čeferin said, referring to one of two Gazan children that UEFA invited at the Super Cup medal ceremony.

“From the other point of view, I’m not a supporter of banning the athletes. Because what can an athlete do to their government to stop the war? It’s very, very hard,” he added.

“I cannot say what will happen. There are talks about everything, but me personally, I’m against kicking the athletes out.”

The Double Standard Debate

Čeferin's stance comes amid criticism over what many, including a UN special rapporteur and human rights groups, call a "glaring" double standard compared to UEFA's suspension of all Russian teams since the 2022 war in Ukraine.

Addressing this, Čeferin pointed out that the ban on Russian athletes has been in place for three and a half years, with no end to the war.

“Now, the ban for Russian teams is, I think, three and a half years. Did the war stop? It didn’t. So for now, I don’t know. I have to say that with the situation in Russia and Ukraine, there was a super strong political pressure,” Čeferin said.

Despite defending the current policy, Čeferin previously acknowledged that the participation of Israeli teams is "a legitimate question" noting that "for now, this is our decision".