UEFA Pauses Vote on Suspending Israel

UEFA has paused plans to vote on suspending or expelling Israel from European football to give U.S. President Donald Trump’s new peace plan a chance to work, a delay UEFA and FIFA officials say reflects jurisdictional and wait‑and‑see considerations. FIFA President Gianni Infantino met Palestine Football Association chief Jibril Rajoub at FIFA headquarters and told the FIFA Council FIFA would not take unilateral political action and emphasized it cannot solve geopolitical problems; no suspension by FIFA was announced. The Palestine FA’s complaint has been forwarded to FIFA’s disciplinary and governance committees and remains under review, while more than 30 legal experts and independent UN investigators and groups including Human Rights Watch have urged UEFA to ban Israel, alleging findings that they say amount to genocide, the killing of at least hundreds of Palestinian footballers and the systematic destruction of Gaza’s football infrastructure. The pause leaves Israel scheduled to play 2026 World Cup qualifiers, notably a match in Oslo on Oct. 11, keeping fixtures amid an unresolved political and legal standoff that could still prompt sanctions if the situation deteriorates further.