By Iqbal Jassat
Media Review Network welcomes decision by a coalition of Palestinian soccer clubs and human rights organisations to charge a major international football association and individuals for war crimes.
In an important development, FIFA and UEFA Presidents have been reported to the ICC for Complicity in War Crimes and Apartheid in Palestine.
A coalition of Palestinian footballers, sports clubs, owners of confiscated land, and human rights organizations filed a 120-page formal complaint on February 16, 2026, with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), directly accusing FIFA president Gianni Infantino and UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity (The Athletic, 2026).
The main allegation focuses on the inclusion of Israeli clubs located in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank within the leagues of the Israel Football Association and in UEFA competitions.
This policy normalizes the transfer of civilian populations into occupied territories, constituting a war crime under Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute, and contributes to apartheid—a crime against humanity under Article 7(1)(j)—by systematically excluding Palestinians as spectators, players, or officials (Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, 2026).
The complainants, including Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Irish Sport for Palestine, Scottish Sport for Palestine, Just Peace Advocates, and Sport Scholars for Justice in Palestine, emphasize that at least six teams operate on land taken from Palestinians with financial and structural backing from FIFA and UEFA. They criticize the double standard: the immediate suspension of Russian clubs in 2022 over the invasion of Ukraine, contrasted with inaction despite more than 1,000 Palestinian athletes killed and the destruction of facilities in Gaza (Al Jazeera, 2026).
The complaint cites the 2024 ruling of the International Court of Justice and UN resolutions demanding the dismantling of settlements. Israel rejects the accusations and defends the legality of its settlements (Haaretz, 2026).
Though neither FIFA nor UEFA have issued detailed responses, Media Review Network supports the legal complaint against them and calls on South Africa’s football players, teams and associations to express their solidarity with Palestine’s just cause.
Iqbal Jassat
Executive Member
Media Review Network
Johannesburg
South Africa
*References:
Al Jazeera. (2026, February 22). UEFA and FIFA may get a red card at the ICC for ignoring Israeli violations.
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. (2026, February 18). Complaint filed with ICC accusing FIFA and UEFA presidents of aiding war crimes and apartheid in Palestinian territory.
Haaretz. (2026, February 20). Report: FIFA, UEFA Presidents Accused at World Court of Aiding Israeli Settlements.
The Athletic. (2026, February 19). FIFA and UEFA presidents accused of ‘aiding war crimes’ in ICC complaint.