Soccer fans around the world call on FIFA, UEFA to 'show Israel the red card'

Mouhamad Rachini · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 16, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

As Israel prepares to play 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, its shot teams are facing calls to beryllium banned from each competitions.

Soccer fans astir the satellite person been chanting, unfurling banners and holding reddish placards demanding FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) "Show Israel the Red Card."

"It's astonishing that it's reaching this far," Palestinian contented creator Ahmed Bdair told CBC News. "All this benignant of worldly has, honestly, pleasantly amazed me."

The run started connected Feb. 12 during a Champions League crippled successful Scotland. Fans of Celtic FC expressed enactment for Palestinians and called connected FIFA and UEFA to "show Israel the reddish card."

According to the organizers, the protestation was motivated by Israel's ongoing attacks connected Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

"Israel is committing genocide and taste cleansing; it is practicing apartheid; and it is illegally occupying Palestinian territory. All of this is successful breach of planetary law," the Green Brigades, Celtic's ultras instrumentality group, said successful a leaflet anterior to the match. 

"We telephone connected shot fans astir the satellite who worth life, humanity, dignity, freedom, bid and justness to beryllium courageous and to usage your level to basal against the crimes of Israel and basal with Palestine," the radical continued.

The run has since dispersed to countries similar Italy, Spain, Belgium, Malaysia, Tunisia, Brazil and Chile, among others.

FIFA and UEFA did not respond to CBC's repeated requests for a comment.

The protests travel aft Israel has killed astir 50,000 Palestinians successful Gaza successful their post-Oct. 7 operations, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. Among the Gaza decease toll are astatine slightest 734 Palestinian athletes and scouts, including 382 shot players, according to the Palestinian Football Association (PFA). The Israeli subject says it has killed astatine slightest 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. 

Israel launched its violative successful Gaza aft the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught connected Israel wherever astir 1,200 were killed and different 250 were taken hostage according to Israeli tallies.

We won't beryllium deterred: Israeli shot body

In a connection to CBC News, the Israel Football Association (IFA) said its teams and athletes volition not beryllium deterred from participating successful planetary sports events. 

"We brushwood rather a fewer incidents of ignorance, self-righteousness, and abysmal hatred that ostensibly explicit protest. The facts and world are good known to america and to galore others, and nary anserine motion volition alteration them," the IFA said successful its email.

This is not the archetypal clip Israel has faced scrutiny successful the sports satellite since Oct. 7.

Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, protestors — including immoderate French lawmakers and an MP — called connected the International Olympic Committee to prohibition Israel from the Games.

That aforesaid year, 12 Middle Eastern shot associations — fronted by the president of the West Asian Football Federation, Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, the half-brother of Jordan's King Abdullah II — besides called connected FIFA to prohibition Israel from its competitions.

This was followed by the PFA requesting FIFA suspend Israel aft claiming that the IFA broke FIFA's favoritism rules. FIFA's assembly ordered an autarkic ineligible investigation and opened a favoritism investigation, but delayed deciding connected suspending Israel.

The struggle has led to tensions astatine shot matches involving Israeli teams. On Nov. 6 and 7, 2024, fans of section Dutch nine AFC Ajax and visiting Israeli squad Maccabi Tel Aviv clashed successful Amsterdam, resulting successful 5 hospitalizations and dozens of arrests.

Soccer writer Ronan Murphy says the protests could marque immoderate Israeli teams and fans consciousness unsafe attending matches.

"I deliberation there's ever going to beryllium that hostility astir visiting fans oregon teams playing Israeli clubs and Israel nationalist shot squad playing successful distant matches," helium told CBC News. 

"It mightiness get to the signifier wherever the fans volition not question for fearfulness of violence, oregon the locals volition not privation the Israeli fans to travel for fearfulness of unit themselves."

Awareness is cardinal for campaign

FIFA and UEFA haven't publically commented connected the "Show Israel the reddish card" campaign, which doesn't astonishment Murphy.

"No substance what they say, it's going to beryllium an unpopular decision. It's intolerable for an enactment similar that to delight everybody," helium said.

Soccer contented creator Bdair said helium would similar to spot Israeli teams ostracized successful a akin mode to Russia, which was broad banned by FIFA and UEFA soon aft Russia invaded Ukraine.

"We've seen however overmuch it tin harm a definite country," said Bdair, who is simply a well-known AC Milan instrumentality connected X. "We nary longer spot Russia astatine the World Cup, we don't spot Russia successful the European competitions, we hardly speech astir the Russian league."

Although Bdair says helium doesn't believes a akin broad prohibition connected Israel is likely, he says it's important to item the "hypocrisy" that lone Russia has been banned. 

He besides says the consciousness the run has enactment connected the plight of Palestinians is much important than a suspension of Israeli teams.

"What does substance to maine is that the radical know, and that's what these protests are much about," helium said.