On September 24, at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Union of European Football Associations - UEFA, the issue of possible sanctions against the Israeli national team and its clubs was discussed. According to the decision announced after the meeting, penalties prohibiting participation in tournaments will not yet be applied to Israel. This was reported by Israel Hayam publication.
The meeting raised the issue of the participation of the Israeli national team in the qualifying matches of the 2026 World Cup, as well as the possible exclusion of Maccabi Tel Aviv from the match against the Greek team PAOK in the Europa League. However, despite the situation, the committee members decided to continue their participation in the competitions.
This decision was made at a time when conflicts in the Middle East were escalating, and sharp criticism and calls for boycotts against Israel from the international community were increasing. Earlier, UN experts accused Israel of gross violations of human rights and freedoms and called for its immediate exclusion from international tournaments.
At the same time, UEFA has scheduled its next meeting for October, and it is said that the current decision may be reviewed depending on the development of the situation.
It's worth noting that UEFA made a decisive decision in February 2022 to ban Russian national teams and clubs from all international competitions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Therefore, the position applied against Israel is causing widespread discussion in the European football community.
According to experts, this decision has made not only competition on the football field, but also the issue of influencing political situations through sports even more relevant.
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