The Scottish Football Association Must Ask FIFA & UEFA to Ban Israel at the FIFA Congress. Please sign before FIFA Congress on 17th May 2024 in a massive push to isolate Israel internationally!

The Palestine Football Association (PFA) has directly appealed for the Scottish Football Association's (SFA) backing for "immediate sanctions against Israeli teams over unprecedented violations of human rights committed by the Israeli occupation in Palestine, particularly in the Gaza Strip" with pitches turned into "interrogation centres, makeshift refugee camps, field hospitals, and mass graves."

The PFA has sent letters to each of the world's 209 football associations including the SFA, seeking its support ahead of the FIFA Congress in May. So far, instead of using its platform to denounce ALL genocide, the SFA has said nothing. In stark contrast to its decision to boycott Russia when its men's teams were drawn together in 2022, it is now forcing its women's team to play Israel in the 2025 Euro Qualifiers.

In its Football Social Responsibility commitments 2023-2026, the SFA promises "to use its platform to inspire social progress both on and off the pitch”. It also underlines key commitments to championing disability rights, refugee rights and children's rights. The SFA's silence on the genocide being carried out by Israel makes a mockery of these commitments.

Israel’s aggression on Palestine is a clear human rights, health, disability rights and displacement crisis that merits sanctioning. 34,000 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF, with thousands buried beneath the rubble. 44% of the dead are children and 1,000 children have had one or both legs amputated, their exit permits for rehabilitation denied. For years, Israeli soldiers have targeted the legs of Palestinians, a fact verified by aid agencies and hospitals. 90% of Palestinians have been internally displaced. This is also an attack on sports and culture, with mosques, churches and sporting facilities destroyed. Among the dead are at least 99 football players, and the Palestinian Olympic football coach has also been killed.

Despite these horrors, both Israel and Palestine continue to compete internationally, raising significant ethical concerns. Sport is the only place where Palestine is recognised internationally and the FIFA Congress is an opportunity to help isolate Israel internationally and help free Palestine. We know international sport sanctions work: they played a major role in ending the Apartheid regime in South Africa. It took world football one week to ban Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. There is no excuse for double standards: the SFA must use its platform to call for Israeli expulsion from international competition and support Palestinians and all other victims of genocide.

Scottish teams and fans have a history of fair play, and the SFA's inaction here is misrepresentative of them. The FIFA Fair Play Award was first created for travelling Scottish fans exemplary sporting behaviour at club level. Since then, other Scottish players and fans have been nominated or awarded for their great conduct, anti-racism and allyship. 

In the spirit of this, we as fans and players, ask that the SFA join other footballing associations and openly call for FIFA and UEFA to red card Israel and genocide with immediate effect and impose all other necessary sanctions.