RSS
UEFA President Reiterates Objection to Banning Israel as Spanish Club Sparks Backlash for Signing Israeli Player
Udine, Italy, August 13th 2025, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin with Palestinian girl Tala and 9-year old Mohamed from Gaza during the medals ceremony at the UEFA Super Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain (France) and Tottenham Hotspur (England) at Stadium Friuli, Udine, Italy. Photo: Natasa Kupljenik / SPP/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Aleksander Čeferin, the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), repeated his opposition to banning Israel from international competitions in a new interview with Politico.
The head of European soccer’s governing body made the remarks amid calls to bar Israel from participating in soccer matches around the world, and just as the Spanish soccer team Villarreal caused an uproar among fans for signing Israeli soccer star Manor Solomon.
Čeferin said last month that, in general, he is against banning athletes from competitions. He told Politico the same in relation to Israeli athletes, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, and at the same time condemned what he described as “reckless politicians” for contributing to the “slaughter” of children around the world.
“Look, first of all, what’s happening with civilians there is personally hurting, killing me,” the UEFA president said of Gaza. “From the other point of view, I’m not a supporter of banning the athletes. Because what can an athlete do to their government to stop the war? It’s very, very hard. Now, the ban for Russian teams is, I think, three and a half years. Did the [Ukraine] war stop? It didn’t … I cannot say what will happen. There are talks about everything, but me personally, I’m against kicking the athletes out.”
“I cannot understand how a politician who can do a lot to stop the slaughter, anywhere, can go to sleep seeing all the children and all the civilians dead,” he added. “I don’t understand it. You know, the idea football should solve these problems? No way.”
The UEFA received backlash from pro-Israel supporters in August for displaying a banner on the pitch at the UEFA Super Cup final in Udine, Italy, that said, “Stop killing children. Stop killing civilians.” The UEFA invited two children from the Gaza Strip to participate in the medal ceremony at the same match. The organization was accused of double standards for displaying the banner, since the UEFA bans political messaging at matches and recently launched disciplinary proceedings against the Israeli team Maccabi Haifa after its fans displayed an anti-Polish banner.
Talking to Politico, Čeferin defended the “Stop killing children” banner and insisted that it was not political. He even claimed that he had “full, full support” from the president of the Israeli Football Federation, who he said is a good friend. While expressing support for the banner, Čeferin also suggested that Israel is waging a war in Gaza because of “geopolitical interests,” and not in response to the deadly Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, or in an effort to rescue the hostages abducted by the terrorists and held captive in Gaza.
“When you see children dying all around the world because of — it’s a diplomatic statement, if I say — reckless politicians. Whoever thinks that ‘Stop Killing Children, Stop Killing Civilians’ is a political message is an idiot, for me,” Čeferin said. “We don’t interfere in politics, but we will not say that killing children anywhere or civilians is a good thing. We have to say we despise it, and we will always say it.”
“If such a big thing is going on, such a terrible thing that doesn’t allow me to sleep — not me, all my colleagues — nobody in this organization said we shouldn’t do it. No one. Then you have to do what is the right thing to do,” he told Politico. “It’s terrible that children are dying because of political interest, starving to death. Mohamed, who was giving the medals [at last month’s UEFA Super Cup] with me, lost his mother and his father [in Gaza]. And he was heavily injured. I’ve never seen a child hugging me so much as he did. He needs love. He doesn’t need another bomb on his head because of a geopolitical interest.”
In August, the Association of Italian Coaches demanded, “on behalf of the Palestinian people,” that Israel be temporarily suspended from international competitions held by the Italian Soccer Federation, UEFA,and FIFA. Earlier in the month, the German soccer club Fortuna Düsseldorf backed out of signing Israeli striker Shon Weissman after the athlete expressed support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza during its war targeting Hamas terrorists who orchestrated and perpetrated the attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The Norwegian Football Association also recently condemned what it claaimed were “disproportionate attacks” against civilians in Gaza and said it will donate profits from an Oct. 11 game against Israel to aid humanitarian causes in Gaza.
On Monday, Spain’s soccer club Villarreal announced that it signed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur to have Solomon join the Spanish team on loan. The news resulted in a social media frenzy in which Villarreal fans said the left winger was “not welcome at Villarreal and does not deserve the affection of its supporters.” Fans urged the team to boycott the Israeli forward while the Kfar Saba native, who previously played for Israel’s national team, was accused of being a “genocide supporter” and called antisemitic names for being a Zionist.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.