US to intervene against possible Fifa sanctions against Israel

The US has said it will intervent to prevent Israel from being sanctioned by football's governing body Fifa ahead of the World Cup due to be held in the US, Mexico and Canada in 2026.

Israel's national team is still in the running to qualify for the tournament but faces a threat of being barred over the state's ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

UN experts called for the suspension of the Israeli team from international football on Tuesday after a panel found it to be committing genocide in the besieged strip.

“Sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual,” the experts said.

“Sporting bodies must not turn a blind eye to grave human rights violations, especially when their platforms are used to normalise injustices.”

The intervention has increased pressure on Fifa to act against Israel but it also faces pressure from the US, which has backed Israel during its genocide, to not implement sanctions.

A US State Department spokesperson told Sky News that the US would "absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel's national soccer team from the World Cup."

Critics have pointed out that Russia has been suspended from Fifa tournaments since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Since its genocide in Gaza began, Israel has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, including hundreds of athletes, including prominent Palestinian footballers.

In August it killed former Palestinian international footballer Suleiman al-Obeid while he was trying to secure aid.

Obeid played 24 times for the national team and earned the accolade the “Palestinian Pele” for a style that resembled the Brazilian legend.

Israeli soldiers and foreign security contractors have killed more than 1,400 Palestinians at aid distribution points run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial food distribution operation that replaced aid distribution networks run by humanitarian groups.