Amnesty International called on the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to suspend Israel’s football association, saying Israel’s participation in the UEFA Nations League, whose group phase opens on 24 September 2026, is “unconscionable” while clubs based in illegal settlements remain in Israel’s domestic leagues.

Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s director for Europe, said UEFA and FIFA “should have suspended” the Israeli association long ago for refusing to exclude settlement clubs, in the statement published by the organisation itself (Amnesty International) and carried by Arab News. Israel is in League B with Austria, Ireland and Kosovo; the Ireland–Israel games were scheduled for neutral venues in Hungary and Serbia, behind closed doors, after the Football Association of Ireland asked UEFA to consider suspending the Israeli team. FIFA decided in March 2026 to take no action against the Israeli association, and the Palestinian Football Association appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.