US State Department vows to ‘fully stop any effort’ to exclude Israel from 2026 tournament as UN commission finds genocide in Gaza
Donald Trump will intervene to stop FIFA, soccer’s governing body, banning Israel from the World Cup in the United States next summer, it has been revealed.
The United Nations this week urged organisations to suspend Israeli sporting teams over the war in Gaza after a UN commission said Israel is committing genocide in the region. Israel has rejected the accusations.
Now, according to Sky News, a spokesperson for Marco Rubio’s state department has said: “We will absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel’s national soccer team from the World Cup.
FIFA is yet to respond to the UN’s calls but the suggestion puts its president, Gianni Infantino, in a potentially difficult position after working hard to forge a close relationship with Trump.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory found that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, urging Israel and all States to fulfil their legal obligations under international law to end the genocide and punish those responsible.
The Commission concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, including killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about destruction, and imposing measures intended to prevent births.
In a speech in New York this week, Infantino said it is difficult to sanction countries involved in conflict but added: “I suffer when I see children suffer. I cry when I see mothers crying, whether it’s in Gaza… anywhere in the world.”
But despite Infantino’s words, Russia remains banned from international competition due to its war with Ukraine and won’t play at the World Cup, which starts next June.
Israel’s team has a good chance of qualifying for the competition, which will largely be held in the US with games also staged in Mexico and Canada.
Israel has two more qualifying games remaining, the next of which is held in a little over two weeks, on October 11 against Norway before its final game against Italy three days later.
Israel is third in the standings, tied on points with second-place Italy. The winner of the group automatically qualifies for the World Cup, while second-place goes into a playoff.
But Norwegian officials have already said that it would donate any profits from that game to humanitarian aid organisations in Gaza, specifically Doctors Without Borders. “Neither we nor other organisations can remain indifferent to the humanitarian suffering and disproportionate attacks that the civilian population in Gaza has been subjected to for a long time,” Norwegian federation president Lise Klaveness said last month.
The Italian Soccer Coaches’ Association has written a formal letter to the Italian soccer federation pushing for Israel to be suspended from international competition, saying “Israel must stop. Soccer must also take action”.
And there is growing belief that European soccer nations want Israel banned from the biggest stage of all next year.
According to The Times, ‘most members’ of UEFA’s executive committee are in favour of banning Israel from European football.
It’s possible Infantino could choose to remain silent on the topic in the hope that Israel fails to qualify and takes a difficult decision out of his hands. But Thursday’s comments from Rubio’s department put the topic firmly back on the agenda.
The Trump administration’s intervention comes as it promotes the 2026 World Cup, with the state department spokesperson telling Sky News: “We will absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel’s national soccer team from the World Cup.
The Donald Trump administration wants approval from Congress to sell Israel $6.4 billion in military equipment, Reuters reported on 19 September — just three days after the UN commission published its legal analysis.
There was also concern earlier this year that nations such as Iran would be banned from the World Cup after Trump placed a travel ban on the country to stop nationals entering the US.
Iran is the only nation on Trump’s travel ban list that has already secured a place in the 2026 World Cup. While Iranian players will be permitted to compete, their supporters will be barred from entering the U.S..
Trump’s travel ban applies to citizens of Iran, whose men’s national soccer team has already qualified for the upcoming World Cup, though Section 4 of the proclamation grants exceptions to athletes and immediate relatives traveling for the World Cup.
The controversy highlights the complex intersection of sports and geopolitics ahead of the 2026 World Cup, with FIFA caught between pressure from the UN and human rights organisations on one side and the tournament’s host nation on the other.
Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the UN commission’s findings as a “fake report” that “relies entirely on Hamas falsehoods,” calling for the “immediate abolition of this Commission of Inquiry.
The situation presents a significant diplomatic challenge for FIFA as it attempts to maintain the World Cup’s status as a global celebration whilst navigating increasingly polarised international politics.
Follow for more updates on Britannia Daily
Image Credit:
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attend the FIFA Club World Cup Final — photo by White House / Shealah Craighead, public domain
