On February 16, a group of Palestinian football players, clubs and advocacy groups referred the heads of FIFA and UEFA to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The 120-page complaint accuses Gianni Infantino and Alexander Ceferin of aiding and abetting “war crimes (particularly the transfer of civilians to occupied territory) and crimes against humanity (particularly apartheid).”
This historic case is the first time a sports leader has been charged with such a crime and should send a warning to presidents of all corporate entities within and outside of athletics. It provides a unique opportunity to challenge Israeli apartheid, occupation and impunity for genocide.
Football is the world’s most popular form of cultural expression, with approximately 5 billion fans on the planet. The stakes of this accusation are therefore enormous in terms of accountability and precedent.
In the course of the massacre in Gaza in general, and Operation Kill Athletes in particular, Israel killed 1,007 Palestinian athletes, destroyed 184 sports facilities, and damaged 81 other facilities.
Although this “killing of players” is not directly attributable to the Israel Football Association (IFA), its activities related to clubs in illegal Israeli settlements located in the occupied Palestinian territories and its participation in domestic and international tournaments could be considered aiding and abetting Israel’s crimes of occupation and apartheid.
Despite facing calls for the suspension of these clubs and the IFA, UEFA and FIFA leadership have taken no action. FIFA President Infantino said in a recent interview that he opposes the banning of Israeli teams from world football, calling it a “defeat”. He added that he was in favor of making it clear in FIFA regulations that no country should be banned from playing soccer “because of the actions of its political leaders.”
It’s ironic given that he is the very person who oversaw Russia’s suspension from FIFA in 2022 and the banning of Crimean clubs from playing in the Russian league in conjunction with UEFA, following Russia’s occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014.
The complaint was filed against Mr. Infantino and Mr. Ceferin because private entities cannot be defendants before the ICC, but individuals responsible for their policies can.
The complaint focuses on the fact that IFA is allowed to substantially support, endorse and include clubs based in stolen settlements in the occupied West Bank in national and international competitions.
Article 64(2) of the FIFA Statute prohibits member associations and their clubs from playing on the territory of other member associations without the approval of that other member association.
The complaint alleges that by having IFA supervise clubs operating on stolen land, Mr. Infantino and Mr. Ceferin are in violation of a 2024 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which recognizes the settlements as “illegal,” and that Israel It claims that Israel is responsible for normalizing illegal Israeli settlements, in direct violation of a 2024 ruling and a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the “immediate cessation of all new settlement activities and the evacuation of all settlers from Israel.” Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
The introduction asserts that the presence of recognized Israeli clubs in West Bank settlements, contrary to Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute, normalizes colonization and contributes to the transfer of civilians to the occupied territories.
Similarly, Israeli clubs in the Occupied Territories prohibit Palestinians from attending matches or playing in or managing these teams, so continued sanctions against these organizations fall within the definition of aiding and abetting apartheid (a crime against humanity under Article 7(1)(j) of the Rome Statute).
The submission alleges that in continuing to allow these clubs and the IFA membership in world and European sport, Infantino and Ceferin knowingly acted in complicity in a violation of international law by deliberately ignoring numerous reports and letters recommending intervention.
Now that the complaint has been formally filed, the ICC Prosecutor’s Office will conduct a preliminary investigation to ensure that the elements of jurisdiction, admissibility, and interest of justice are met. They can then choose to refuse to begin an investigation or continue investigating the legal issues raised in the complaint.
If an investigation is conducted, evidence will be collected and eventually an arrest warrant or subpoena may be issued. If that happens, it would set an important precedent and give momentum to the movement for justice in Palestine.
Notably, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was able to avoid an ICC arrest warrant by withdrawing from signatories to the Rome Statute, it would be impossible for Mr. Infantino and Mr. Ceferin to do so while still doing their part, assuming the Rome Statute was enforced.
Football is undoubtedly one of the most popular sports on the planet. When cultural giants like this connect with business, an industry like no other is created. FIFA and UEFA are global regulatory monopolies, and their rules and regulations operate in the same way that the laws of a country affect its citizens. They also lead a huge and lucrative industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Given the stakes and the amount of money at stake, the impact of the ban is enormous, as the suspended Russia is well aware. No doubt this is precisely why the presidents of these organizations refused to act against Israel under the guise of “political neutrality.”
Michael Link, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said: “When an occupying power commits a blatant war crime by creating civilian settlements in occupied territory, the rest of the world, including states, corporations and international sporting bodies, must do all they can to ensure the enforcement of international law to quickly end the violation. Yet FIFA and UEFA are sportswashing by condoning Israel’s illegal occupation.” The Israeli Football Association believes that allowing clubs based in illegal settlements to participate in the domestic league could not be further from the rules of fairness and fairness. ”
The bottom line is that sports are, and always will be, political. The veneer of “political neutrality” hides the reality that politics is the name of the game for FIFA and UEFA.
No one has the right to stand above international law. It’s time for the ICC to prove it.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.
