The IDF recently killed another a prominent Palestinian footballer forcing the head of European football's governing body to address the hypocritical policy of banning Russia but not Israel. "This is a legitimate question," Alexander Ceferin replied: "In principle, I do not support banning athletes from participating in competitions. In the case of Russia, the athletes have not been participating for three-and-a-half years and the war has only worsened. I know that many of the athletes oppose the regime, but they still cannot play. I am against being denied the right to participate in our competitions. Israel is allowed to play in our facilities. This is our decision as of now," Ceferin said. "It's hard for me to say what will happen in the future, but I really think that all athletes should be given the opportunity to compete. The rest of the things should be resolved in other ways."
760 Palestinian athletes have been killed by Israel, including 420 footballers, while 140 football facilities have been destroyed. While Russia's ongoing invasion and occupation of Ukraine is believed to have killed or wounded nearly 50,000 civilians, Israel's US-backed assault and siege on Gaza has left more than three times that number of civilians dead or injured, based on estimates from UN agencies and IDF that between two-thirds and three-quarters of slain Palestinians were noncombatants. Both Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu are fugitives from the ICC. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice. Inexplicably, Israel was allowed to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympiad, but Russia was not. Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to block this banner's display at a recent UEFA match but had to settle for a compromise in which Israel would not be named.
