By Urban Shihemi , September 27, 2025
Renowned sports analyst Joe Wasike has called on global football governing bodies UEFA and FIFA to impose an immediate ban on Israel from all international sporting activities, citing war crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Speaking during alive interview on Sanchari Ya Michezo program on Horizon TV, Wasike urged football authorities to apply the same standards used against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian teams and clubs from international competitions, a decision that Wasike believes set a clear precedent.
“If FIFA and UEFA could take a decisive stance against Russia for its aggression in Ukraine, then consistency demands they do the same with Israel for its actions in Gaza,” he stated.
Wasike argued that sports must not be isolated from humanitarian concerns, noting that global football is a powerful platform that has historically influenced political and social change. He emphasized that the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, marked by heavy civilian casualties, calls for bold action from international sports organizations.
His remarks add to a growing chorus of voices worldwide calling for the suspension of Israel from sporting engagements until it complies with international humanitarian law.
European soccer body UEFA is moving toward a vote to suspend Israel over the war in Gaza.
A majority of the Union of European Football Associations 20-member executive committee is expected to support any vote in favor of suspending Israeli teams from international play.
Such a step would prevent Israeli national and clubs teams from playing in international competitions including next year’s World Cup.
FIFA’s ruling council is scheduled to meet in Zurich next week. The 37-member council includes eight from UEFA.
Calls to exclude Israel from soccer and other sports have increased in recent weeks amid an outcry over the humanitarian toll of its military attacks in Gaza. Last week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Israel should be banned from international sports events just like Russia, which was sidelined after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Israeli army has killed nearly 65,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. Months of air and ground assaults have left Gaza largely uninhabitable, pushing its population into famine.
The UN on Friday warned of devastating consequences for civilians in the Gaza Strip as Israeli forces intensified their attacks via airstrikes on the besieged enclave at an alarming frequency.
