By Abigail Holliday
Copy Editor
After Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) banned Russia from playing in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup only four days later.
Russia’s national team was banned from all competitions, and all Russian club teams were barred from playing in European tournaments, like the Champions League. That ban is still in effect today, restricting the national team from competing in the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Though the conflict technically started in 2014 when disguised Russian soldiers invaded the Ukrainian Republic of Crimea, the Russia-Ukraine War began in 2022 when a full-scale invasion was launched into Ukraine by Russia, hoping to take over their capital, Kyiv.
Over the past three years since Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to overtake Ukraine, more than 14,000 people were confirmed killed, over twice as many injured, cities and protected buildings were demolished and what was Europe’s largest exodus that occurred since WWII, with over 700,000 people fleeing and finding refuge in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic, according to Britannica.
While FIFA is a sports organization, having no political affiliations, they still have 211 members, all of which have their own opinions on the war in Ukraine, pressuring them to make a decision about Russia, according to ESPN.
On the other hand, Gaza, which was home to 2.3 million people, has been repeatedly under fire from Israel causing the displacement of 750,000 Palestinians, a larger exodus than Ukraine's, killing over 68,000 people and destroying schools, cultural landmarks from the fifth century and attacking over over 800 mosques, according to Al Jazeera.
The Israel-Hamas War started on Oct. 7, 2023 when Hamas launched an attack on Israel by land, sea and air from the Gaza Strip. Since then hospitals and refugee camps have been bombed, a famine was confirmed in Gaza and humanitarian aids, like Greta Thunberg, were tortured for just trying to bring food and medical supplies to Gaza.
On Oct. 10 of this year, a ceasefire was agreed upon by both parties and three days later any remaining hostages were released, according to Britannica.
Despite all of this, Israel has been playing qualification matches for the 2026 World Cup. When asked, FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino said in a press release, “FIFA cannot solve geopolitical problems, but it can and must promote football around the world by harnessing its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values.”
Over 30 legal experts have written a letter to the UEFA, asking for them to ban all Israeli soccer clubs from being able to compete due to their actions in Gaza. The letter put pressure on its leaders by pleading with them to “fulfil their legal and moral obligations to uphold international law, and move forward with an immediate and complete ban of Israeli football.”
Their statement also read, “These acts have decimated an entire generation of athletes, eroding the fabric of Palestinian sport.” According to Al Jazeera, over 400 Palestinian soccer players have been killed since the war began in 2023.
Hundreds of thousands of fans and protesters, including the former France and Manchester United captain Eric Cantona, Spanish Sports Minister Pilar Alegria and the Palestinian Football Association have all called for FIFA and the UEFA to place a former ban on Israel like they did so swiftly for Russia, according to Al Jazeera.
