Speaking at the Together for Palestine concert in London last month, Eric Cantona – Manchester United legend and maverick French footballer of the 1990s – minced no words. “I played for France and Manchester United,” he said. “I know that international football is more than just sport. It is culture, it is political, it is soft power.
“In a way that a country represents itself on a global stage, the time has come to suspend Israel from that privilege.”
He also pointed out what he viewed as hypocrisy on the part of FIFA, which had banned Russia within days of their invasion of Ukraine. “Why, why is it double standards?” asked Cantona. “FIFA and UEFA must suspend Israel. Clubs everywhere must refuse to play Israeli teams. Current players everywhere must refuse to play against Israeli teams.”
Easier said than done. In the build-up to Tuesday night’s World Cup qualifier against in Udine, Gennaro Gattuso – Italy’s coach – spoke movingly about his team’s predicament.
“It pains the heart to see what is happening,” said Gattuso of the pictures and videos he had seen from the conflict in Gaza. “We know full well there will be 10,000 people outside the stadium [protesting] and 6,000 inside.
“We also know that we have to play, otherwise we’ll be given an automatic 3-0 defeat.”
It’s also worth noting that it’s not just individuals like Cantona and Gattuso who have made their feelings clear. When thousands of Liverpool fans celebrated a record-equalling 20th league title last April, Palestinian flags were conspicuous by their presence among the assembled throng.
A couple of months before that, when Glasgow Celtic played Bayern Munich in the Champions League, their fans unfurled a gigantic banner that urged UEFA to “Show ‘Israel’ the red card”. Banners and flags soon after the conflict began in October 2023 had already seen Celtic fined by UEFA.
Supporters of the Benjamin Netanyahu regime are quick to dismiss such protests as anti-Semitism. Is that the case? Avi Cohen was the first Israeli player to play in England’s top flight, and a much-loved member of the mighty Liverpool side assembled by Bob Paisley. Later, both Ronny Rosenthal and Yossi Benayoun were hugely popular with the fan base.
As for Celtic, Eyal Berkovic had a spell that at the turn of the millennium, while Nir Bitton wore the famous green-and-white-hoops jersey for nearly a decade until 2022. Liel Abada was a key member of the squad until the conflict began in 2023, and was sold to Charlotte in the MLS only because the uneasy atmosphere – the Green Brigade has always been vocal in its support of the Palestinian cause – made it hard for him to perform at his best.
The opposition is to the Netanyahu government, its policies and other states that support that. In that context, even a potential boycott might have been likely had Israel qualified for next summer’s World Cup in North America. Such an occurrence isn’t unprecedented, with African nations having boycotted the Montreal Olympics in 1976.
As things stand though, after Erling Haaland’s devastating hat-trick and two own goals saw Norway romp to a 5-0 win last Saturday, Israel’s prospects look bleak to non-existent. Once they play Italy, they have an easier game against Moldova to finish their campaign. But just to make the play-offs ahead of Italy, they will need to win in Udine, and then hope for a massive swing in goal difference and an Italy loss at the San Siro when they host Norway in their final game.
So far, despite widespread calls for a ban, citing the Russia example, UEFA and FIFA have managed to pass the buck and avoid a decision. Haaland’s goals may just have spared them major heartburn and a geopolitical crisis next summer.
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