Advocacy groups call for European ban on Israel team and players in Times Square billboard

A billboard successful Times Square displays the connection “Soccer Federations: Boycott Israel” arsenic portion of the run by Game Over Israel calling for a boycott of Israel by nationalist soccer federations implicit the war successful Gaza, successful New York City, US, Tuesday. [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]

A conjugation of advocacy organizations and instrumentality groups called connected European soccer federations, including Greece’s, to boycott Israel successful a billboard successful New York’s Times Square that went unrecorded connected Tuesday, kicking disconnected the #GameOverIsrael run months up of the World Cup.

New York is acceptable to big 8 matches successful the World Cup adjacent year, including the final. Canada and Mexico are co-hosting the quadrennial planetary contention with the United States.

The run calls connected soccer federations successful Belgium, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland, and Spain to boycott the Israeli nationalist team and prohibition Israeli players from home competitions, citing the ongoing attacks successful Gaza.

Reached for comment, the Israel Football Association said successful a statement: “When will the radical of hypocrites down the pathetic telephone find it due to condemn the October 7 massacre, telephone for the merchandise of Israeli hostages who person been languishing successful the tunnels of the Nazi terrorist enactment Hamas for two years successful inhumane conditions, oregon beryllium liable for something that doesn’t consciousness similar sickening anti-Semitism?”

Reuters was not instantly capable to scope FIFA and UEFA for comment.

“As the United States prepares to big the FIFA World Cup successful 2026, Americans indispensable not let our stadiums to go platforms for whitewashing war crimes,” said American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee National Executive Director Abed Ayoub successful a statement.

The ADC launched the #GameOverIsrael inaugural with respective European partners.

“We stand with our European counterparts and request that each shot governing assemblage take contiguous and decisive enactment to barroom Israel from planetary competition,” said Ayoub. “The world indispensable tell Israel that the crippled is over, and there is nary country successful sports for war criminals.”

A United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded connected Tuesday, opens caller tab that Israel has committed genocide successful Gaza. Israeli officials rejected the findings of the report, with Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations calling it “scandalous” and “fake.”

The billboard, which was located adjacent the intersection of Broadway and West 43rd Street, contains the word “genocide”, which ADC said was lone approved by the billboard institution aft it saw the text of the UN commission’s report.

Israel are presently third successful the table successful their World Cup qualifying Group I, down Norway and Italy. The winners of UEFA’s 12 qualifying groups summation nonstop introduction to the World Cup while the runners-up spell into the playoffs. [Reuters]