Maltese MEP Criticises FIFA and UEFA Over Ukraine-Palestine Double Standards
Maltese Labour MEP Daniel Attard has criticised FIFA and UEFA for what he described as blatant double standards in handling conflicts.
He noted that Russian teams were banned from international competitions just four days after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Meanwhile, despite years of appeals from the Palestinian Football Association, no action has been taken against Israeli clubs based in illegal West Bank settlements—contrary to FIFA’s own rules.
“The most blatant violation: at least six football clubs from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank compete in IFA leagues. Article 72.2 of FIFA’s Statutes forbids a member association from running competitions on another member’s territory without consent. By allowing this, FIFA legitimises an illegal occupation,” wrote Attard on Linkedin.
The Palestinian Football Association, he explained, has repeatedly appealed for FIFA to address breaches committed by the Israel Football Association. Instead of action, however, it has been met with “deferrals, committees, and inaction.”
One of the most glaring examples, Attard stressed, is the participation of six Israeli clubs based in illegal West Bank settlements — a practice directly prohibited under FIFA’s statutes unless approved by the relevant member association.
Beyond these violations, Palestinian football has suffered broader consequences: restrictions on players’ freedom of movement, the destruction of stadiums and infrastructure, and even raids on offices. These are not, he insisted, “abstract political disputes but direct attacks on a FIFA member’s ability to play the sport.”
Attard concluded that FIFA’s response is driven less by principle than by politics and power. He contrasted this with ordinary supporters, praising fans across Europe and beyond who display Palestinian flags and banners each week, calling their actions a “grassroots rebuke to football’s administrators.”
What do you make of his comments?
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