Autor: global-affair

Responding to FIFA’s announcement that no action will be taken against the Israeli Football Association (IFA) over the participation of clubs based in illegal settlements in Israel’s leagues, Steve Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International said: 

“By refusing to take action against clubs based in Israeli settlements, FIFA has failed to enforce its own rules and is blatantly flouting international law. FIFA had a clear opportunity to stand up for Palestinians’ rights and international law – with this decision it has shamefully chosen to abandon both. 

By refusing to take action against clubs based in Israeli settlements, FIFA has failed to enforce its own rules and is blatantly flouting international law. 

Steve Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International

“The International Court of Justice has unambiguously declared that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful, that settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) are illegal and that Israel’s presence in the OPT must rapidly end. FIFA’s own statutes are clear that its members cannot play games in the territory of another association without permission. 

“By continuing to condone the presence of clubs based in illegal settlements in the OPT in Israel’s league, the Israeli Football Association is indirectly legitimizing Israel’s unlawful occupation and its severe human rights violations against Palestinians, including the crime against humanity of apartheid. FIFA must not continue to ignore the International Court of Justice’s 2024 Advisory Opinion. FIFA has an unequivocal responsibility to act. It must also ensure full transparency and publish the legal advice FIFA received on this matter and provide the full rationale for its unjust decision.” 

Background 

There are at least six clubs based in illegal settlements in the OPT currently playing in Israeli leagues. Article 64.2 of FIFA’s statutes states that: “Member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter’s approval.”  

In March 2024, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) submitted a complaint to FIFA calling for sanctions against the IFA over anti-Palestinian racism in Israeli football and calling for the exclusion of settlement clubs.  

In its response on 19 March 2026 the football governing body said FIFA would not take action declaring that the “legal status of the West Bank remains an unresolved and highly complex matter under public international law”. 

In October 2025, Amnesty International had written to FIFA and UEFA calling for the suspension of the IFA unless clubs from illegal settlements in the OPT were immediately excluded from participating in domestic Israeli leagues. 

In November 2025, Amnesty International wrote to law firm Bonnard-Lawson, which was commissioned by FIFA to provide legal advice on its response to the PFA complaint. Bonnard-Lawson responded declining to provide a comment. 

With respect to the anti-Palestinian racism allegations, FIFA’s disciplinary committee fined the IFA 150,000 Swiss francs ($190,700) for “multiple breaches” of its anti-discrimination obligations. 

FIFA and UEFA have both provided funding for the IFA, meaning they may also be contributing to the expansion of illegal settlements, and therefore Israel’s human rights violations.  

The post FIFA refusal to act over Israeli clubs based in illegal settlements flouts international law  appeared first on Amnesty International.

Reacting to the release of 250 individuals imprisoned in Belarus on politically motivated grounds, including human rights defenders Marfa Rabkova and Nasta Loika, as a part of a deal with the United States, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said:

“While the release of hundreds of individuals unjustly detained on politically motivated charges is a welcome step, it must not be mistaken for justice. Marfa Rabkova, Nasta Loika, Valiantsin Stefanovich and others should not have spent a day in prison. Freedom should never be the product of geopolitical bargaining in human beings. Justice will not be served until those responsible for their unlawful imprisonment are held accountable.

“The Belarusian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all those still imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights, quash their convictions and put an end to the systemic repression against government critics. Further reprisals, including arrests and imprisonment that we are observing, are unacceptable.”

Further reprisals, including arrests and imprisonment that we are observing, are unacceptable

Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director

Background

On 19 March, Belarusian authorities released 250 prisoners, including prominent human rights defenders Marfa Rabkova, Nasta Loika and Valiantsin Stefanovich. Among those released is also Mikita Zalatarou, arrested in 2021 when he was 17 years old and sentenced to five years.

The releases followed negotiations with the US, which in turn agreed to ease certain sanctions targeting Belarusian financial institutions and key export sectors. According to available information, while the majority of those freed remained in Belarus, at least 15 individuals were transferred to Lithuania accompanied by the US delegation.

Those released were detained, prosecuted and imprisoned under politically motivated charges, in retaliation for their professional activities such as human rights work or for peacefully exercising their human rights during protests that followed the widely contested 2020 presidential election, which triggered a wave of large-scale reprisals that continue to this day.

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