When Russia attacked Ukraine, within four days a whole array of sanctions and boycotts were put in place, but Israel appears immune, despite compelling evidence of two years of crimes against humanity. Geographically, Israel isn’t even in Europe – the very fact that it is invited to take part in European contests shows the level of complicity of our governments and the simple truth that it has always been a colonial project in the oil-rich Middle East.
For decades, Israel’s expansion in the West Bank has been deemed illegal, and since the Hamas retaliation on October 7th 2023, multiple international bodies and law and holocaust experts have described Israel’s military onslaught in Gaza as a genocide.
Norway, Belgium, Scotland and Ireland have all called for a football boycott, but so far UEFA president Alexander Čeferin has rejected any vote.
This week at a venue under the famous Piccadilly lights, Čeferin and other major figures and invited guests attended the official brand launch of UEFA 28, and protesters were there to greet them, shower them with blood-stained money, and disrupt their evening with a very loud protest outside their doors.
At 20.28 the Piccadilly lights screened the new branding to a small crowd of onlookers and journalists while the noisy chanting continued all evening.
The Game Over Israel campaign is asking the heads of our football federations to use their executive powers and issue a complete boycott of any Israeli team or player.
