Palestinians to file ICC lawsuit against FIFA, UEFA chiefs over role in Israeli war crimes, apartheid
Palestinian footballers, clubs, and international groups are planning to lodge a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the heads of world soccer’s governing body, FIFA, and its European counterpart, UEFA, for aiding Israeli war crimes and apartheid.
Latest reports said the case focuses on how FIFA and UEFA presidents Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Ceferin allowed football clubs to operate from illegal Israeli settlements despite warnings from UN experts and human rights organizations.
The international community views Zionist settlements as illegal under international law and the Geneva Conventions due to their construction on occupied Palestinian land.
In addition to settlement activities, Zionist regime has martyred at least 70,100 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since October 7, 2023, when it waged a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Zionist regime was forced to agree to a Gaza ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, 2025, but has since violated the truce with near-daily attacks on the besieged Palestinian territory.
At least 894 Palestinian individuals involved in sports, including players, coaches, referees, and club officials, have been killed during the brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza, according to the figures released by the Gaza Government Media Office. More than 400 of the victims are football players.
Israeli attacks have also completely or partially destroyed 292 Palestinian sports centers and football fields, training halls, and youth clubs, over the past two years.
Last month, the Palestinian Football Association’s (PFA) chief legal adviser said FIFA and UEFA have been violating their own rules and obligations by refusing to expel Israel from global competitions, despite “mounting genocide evidence” documented by reputable international bodies against the usurping regime.
Speaking to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, Kat Vilarev said Infantino and Ceferin “chose to ignore” Israel’s grave human rights violations.
“Given the complicity of Israeli sports institutions in the Gaza genocide, FIFA and UEFA are legally bound to act,” she added. “Their statutes, human rights policies, and disciplinary codes require them to align with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.”
Vilarev further said that many Israeli athletes are soldiers who have publicly called for Gaza’s destruction.
“Israeli clubs and associations openly back occupation forces and even hold matches on occupied Palestinian land. That directly aids illegal settlements and the occupation,” she noted.