(MENAFN) Dozens of athletes have urged the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to suspend Israel over its human rights abuses in Gaza.

In a letter to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin on Tuesday, the group Athletes for Peace, representing more than 70 sports figures, backed efforts to sever ties with the Israel Football Association. The letter, drafted by the Game Over Israel organization, also received support from Athletes 4 Peace, The Gaza Tribunal, and The Hind Rajab Foundation.

“No shared venue, stage, or arena in international civil society should welcome a regime that commits genocide, apartheid, and other crimes against humanity,” the letter stated.

Prominent athletes supporting the call include French World Cup champion Paul Pogba, Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi, Moroccan player Hakim Ziyech, and Spanish winger Adama Traore. “Israel’s continued impunity for such crimes will only be ended by the weight of collective conscientious action, including measures to block their entry to sporting or cultural events and activities,” the letter added.

Addressing Ceferin directly, the letter cited his own words that "football belongs to everyone," warning that allowing those who harm others’ humanity into the sport risks undermining its core values.

The petition is part of an ongoing campaign urging UEFA to ban Israel from tournaments in response to attacks in Gaza, where more than 69,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, over 170,000 injured, and the territory left largely uninhabitable since October 2023, according to the Health Ministry.

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