List of petitions calling for Israel ban from Sports

Main article: Boycotts of Israel in sports

Calls for Israel to be banned from international sports have been in the works for years and have grown louder due to the Israel–Hamas war. International sanctions have been an effective method of punishing those who violate international law since 1972, when the South African team was banned from the Olympic Games for 23 years. More recently, in 2014, the European Union passed sanctions against Russia after it illegally annexed Ukraine's land. Article 4 of FIFA's constitution prohibits "discrimination of any kind against a country or group of people" and says that any violation of this obligation of non-discrimination is punishable by "suspension or expulsion".

Petitions

Twelve soccer associations in the Middle East

A group of a dozen football associations in the Middle East are calling on FIFA to ban Israel from playing the sport globally, due to the Israel–Hamas war. The 12-member West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), including Jordan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is led by Prince Ali bin Hussein, president of the Jordanian Football Association. Prince Ali, the president of the Jordanian Football Federation, wrote about this: "We, the West Asian Football Federations, encompassing all its members, call upon FIFA, the Football Confederations, and Member Associations to join us in taking a decisive stand against the atrocities committed in Palestine and the war crimes in Gaza, by condemning the killing of innocent civilians including players, coaches, referees, and officials, the destruction of the football infrastructure, and taking a united front in isolating the Israeli Football Association from all football-related activities until these acts of aggression cease." Prince Ali, Jordan's royal, wrote to EU members, including Britain's native countries: "It is with a sense of profound responsibility and commitment to the principles of human rights, justice, and peace that we implore your engagement in this crucial matter." Israel faces calls for football ban from.

BDS

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has long advocated the expulsion or suspension of the Israel Football Association. BDS said in a statement in January 2024 that "Fifa has for years actively shielded Israel from accountability for its ongoing war crimes and violations of Fifa's own statutes through its inclusion of teams in illegal Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land. Fifa has gone so far as to sanction not the illegal settlement clubs but fan clubs expressing support for Palestinian human rights. This is how these hypocritical bodies express ‘neutrality’" . The renewed calls for sanctions come in response to the ongoing war in Gaza, which has wreaked havoc on the Gaza Strip, including its thriving sports movement. On December 6, 2024, BDS movement called for pressure on FIFA until it respects Palestinian rights, accusing the organization of ignoring such calls "for years." BDS lists a wide range of violations committed by the Israel Football Association (IFA), including holding matches in illegal settlements. The BDS movement - launched in 2005 - calls on people to pressure governments to meet their obligations under international law to end apartheid Israel by imposing sanctions. These could include banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements, ending free trade agreements, limiting military trade, and suspending Israel's membership in international bodies such as UN agencies, sports federations, international cultural organizations, etc. The BDS movement is launching a "#BanIsrael" campaign on social media, calling on IOC to ban Israel "until it ends its crimes against Palestinians and recognizes our UN-stipulated rights." The BDS group also called for an Olympic ban in 2012 and 2016, among a number of unsuccessful calls.

4Sports Kuwait

More than 23,560 people have signed an online petition asking FIFA to ban Israel from the world sports body in response to the killing of Palestinian footballers by the occupation forces and the destruction of sports venues in Gaza. The petition, created by 4Sports Kuwait, calls out the Israeli regime's sports violations in Gaza under the ongoing genocide that has resulted in the deaths of at least 23,357 Palestinians in nearly 100 days.

DiEM25

The Democracy in Europe Movement 2025, or DiEM25 launched a petition on Monday, calling for Israel to be suspended from world sport "until it fully complies with international law and sports regulations." The petition says "The International Olympic Committee, FIFA, UEFA,FIBA, and other sports organisations are complicit as they allow a continuous participation of the occupying apartheid regime in their events". The letter comes amid a letter published by Irish Member of the European Parliament, Chris MacManus and signed by several MEPs, calling on FIFA, UEFA and "all other competent bodies to take decisive action." Pijtelovich compares Israel's actions to Russia's actions in invading Ukraine in 2022, which saw them widely suspended from international sports: "So on the day four, if we compare figures alone, there was 14 children as victims of war in Ukraine, and that is 14 children too many. But now we have around 14,000 Palestinian children who have been killed in this invasion or aggression on Gaza, And there is no action, there is no condemnation from FIFA, from UEFA, from IOC or anybody. "

Jordan's Football Association (JFA)

On New Year's Eve 2024, the Jordan Football Association (JFA) issued a statement calling on the international sports community to take "decisive action to stop the aggression against Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied territories." JFA's statement called for severe sanctions against Israel's sports associations in an effort to isolate the regime from international sports. This includes banning Israeli teams, clubs, players and representatives from participating in international competitions "until the occupying state complies with international ceasefire demands." The JFA's statement came just days after disturbing footage emerged showing Israeli troops turning Yarmouk Stadium – one of Palestine’s oldest sports facilities – into a makeshift internment camp for Palestinian detainees. As armed soldiers and tanks surrounded the square, dozens of men, women and children were gathered, covered in underwear and blindfolded.

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA)

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has called on FIFA to expel the Israel Football Association (IFA) amid the ongoing war in Israel and Gaza. The PFA say they want to address the unprecedented international human rights and humanitarian law violations committed by Israel and called on FIFA to pressure the IFA to address discrimination and racism in its league and recognize the breach of federation rules.

The Palestine Football Association (PFA) also sent letters to the International Olympic Committee and FIFA calling for an "urgent international probe into occupation crimes against sports and athletes in Palestine". It said "In the latest example of Israeli fascism, the occupation showed us horrific images during its invasion of the Yarmouk Stadium in the Gaza Strip, and turned it into a detention center where it abused and interrogated our people". At the FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Palestine Football Association (PFA) President Jibril Rajoub called on the World Football Organization to suspend Israel and ban Israeli teams from FIFA events. Rajoub, stated in March that he would bring the matter to the Congress' attention, said Israel had violated multiple FIFA statutes, including over the Gaza conflict and the inclusion in Israeli leagues of teams located in Palestinian territory. Rajoub, who said in March that he would bring the issue to Congress.

300 Palestinian sport clubs

300 Palestinian sports clubs asked the International Olympic Committee to exclude Israel from the Olympic Games. In January, Palestinian sports and youth clubs called for Israel's exclusion as part of a wider boycott campaign. The open letter signed by 32 organizations called on the International Olympic Committee to "apply its principles and fulfill its obligations" by banning Israel.

Irish Sports for Palestine

Rebecca O'keeffe, who was one of 350 athletes to sign an open letter from Irish Sports for Palestine calling for a ban on Israeli sport, believes any sports suspension should have been imposed as soon as civilians were killed in Gaza. More recently, six Irish basketballers refused to play Israel in a women's tournament earlier this month while the rest of Ireland's team refused to shake hands with Israel's players at the EuroBasket 2025 qualifier in Riga.

Parliamentary in the United Kingdom

In 2021, a parliamentary petition was launched in the UK calling for sanctions against the Israeli regime and a freeze on all trade, especially arms exports. The petition received over 386,000 signatures and forced the English Parliament to debate the issue.

Artists (Art Not Genocide Alliance)

Thousands of artists, curators and creative professionals had signed an open letter that called out the "ongoing atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza." Thousands of artists signed an open letter calling on the Venice Biennale to ban "any official representation of Israel" at the art world's most important event. The open letter calling for the Biennale to exclude Israel was released Monday by the activist group Art Not Genocide Alliance. Among the more than 17,000 signatories were several prominent artists, including the photographer Nan Goldin and Jesse Darling, the most recent winner of the Turner Prize, the British art award. The names of artists who were to represent Albania, Cyprus, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Nigeria and Zimbabwe at this year's Biennale also appeared as signatories. In the global art world, many artists worry that speaking out in favor of a ceasefire could negatively affect their careers. An open letter about the war published in Artforum magazine in October led to the dismissal of its editor.

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

The Palestinian Campaign for an Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel called on a number of sporting bodies, including the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, to exclude the country because of its human rights record.

French politicians

A group of French politicians, have asked the International Olympic Committee to ban Israeli athletes representing the country in the summer games. A group of left-wing politicians in France called on International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach in February 2024 to exclude Israel from the upcoming games.

French lawmakers, belonging to three left-wing parties

Twenty-six French lawmakers, belonging to three left-wing parties, signed a petition sent to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach calling for sanctions against Israel at the upcoming summer games after the regime's "war crime" in Gaza. In recent days, several left-wing parties in France have asked the International Olympic Committee to impose sanctions against Israeli athletes who will participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The same lawmakers want Israeli athletes to compete in the games without state symbols — the Israeli flag and national anthem — and compete impartially, just as athletes from Russia and Belarus competed at the Tokyo Olympics.

2015 call

In 2015, before the FIFA Congress in Zurich, a request was made to ban Israel from world football.

SumOfUs

Following Israel's 9-day siege on Gaza in 2021, 140,000 Ekō members contacted one of the world's biggest sports brands, PUMA, to withdraw their sponsorship of the Israel Football Association. They met with the CEO of PUMA to get their message across. PUMA ended its relationship with the Israel Football Federation last year, months after the current Israeli invasion. Boycott movements also led a long-running campaign calling for Puma to end its sponsorship of Israel's national soccer team, which began in 2018. While the German sports brand terminated its sponsorship deal in December.

Public figures

Notable figures, including Ken Loach, Bob Russell, Ahdaf Soueif and the late John Berger have already written an open letter urging FIFA to suspend the IFA. In a larger sporting boycott, in 2012 footballers condemned Israel's plans to host the UEFA Under-21 Championship in Israel, and Norwegian national team coach Egil Olsen supported an academic and cultural boycott of Israel. Former professional soccer player Gary Lineker called on FIFA and the International Olympic Committee to join a global boycott of Israel, angering Conservative lawmakers and an anti-Semitic watchdog in the UK.

Ken McCue, a member of the Irish group Insaka-Ireland, was quoted in an article in The Nation as saying: "Some sport people in Ireland are considering a call for Israel to be banned from the Olympics. The IOC did it to Russia and did it to South Africa, why can’t they do it to Israel?"

According to Josep Borrell, there is no reason not to impose sanctions on the Israeli regime to hold it accountable for its numerous violations of international law.