Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness has called for Israel to be suspended from international football ahead of an expected UEFA vote this week on the country’s participation in European competition.
Norway are set to play Israel on October 11 in a World Cup qualifier in Oslo when a win for the hosts would all but seal their qualification for next year’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Klaveness, who also serves on European soccer governing body UEFA’s executive committee, ruled out a boycott of the match but said sanctions against Israel are necessary.
“I work on the issue from a principled standpoint, but we will not boycott on our own. A boycott would only result in Israel going to the World Cup instead of us,” Klaveness said on Norwegian podcast Pop and Politics.
“In general, we are now working for Israel to be sanctioned. We believe that they should be, and this is about upholding the rules.
“Personally, I believe that since Russia is out, Israel should also be out. As a football president you can have personal opinions, and I certainly have mine,” Klaveness added.
UEFA is preparing to hold an emergency vote this week on suspending Israel from European competition.
A United Nations Commission of Inquiry issued a report this month concluding that Israel has committed genocide during the war in Gaza.
Israel has denied committing genocide and described the report as scandalous.
“It is, first of all, incredibly difficult to play against a country where the word genocide is involved, because after all, it is still their flag and national anthem that are present,” Klaveness said.
Israel maintains its war is not against the population of Gaza but against the Hamas militant group whose fighters led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The war in Gaza has caused the deaths of more than 66,000 people, according to local health officials.
Turkish Football Federation President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu has written to soccer’s world governing body FIFA, UEFA and the heads of national football associations urging a ban on Israel from international competition, local media reported.
