United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese has called on the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to expel Israel from all international competitions.

The demand follows the killing of legendary Palestinian footballer Suleiman al-Obeid in an Israeli airstrike on August 6, 2025.

The 41-year-old al-Obeid, revered by Palestinians as the “Palestinian Pelé” for his unmatched skill and devotion to the game, was standing in line for desperately needed humanitarian aid in Khan Younis when Israeli warplanes struck without warning. The attack slaughtered al-Obeid and at least six other civilians, wounding dozens more. Witnesses and local officials confirmed the bombing targeted an area designated as a “safe zone” for aid distribution — a grim reminder that nowhere in Gaza is truly safe under Israeli bombardment.

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) denounced the attack as a “heinous crime” and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, stressing that al-Obeid was not only a civilian but a beloved figure who inspired thousands of young athletes to dream beyond the barbed wire of occupation and siege.

Albanese, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), minced no words: “Time to expel its killers from competitions, UEFA. Let’s make sport apartheid and genocide free. One ball, one kick at a time.”

Her statement places the killing in the context of a systematic Israeli campaign against Palestinian sports, pointing to decades of apartheid policies, targeted destruction of sports infrastructure, and the killing of over 400 athletes, coaches, and referees since the Gaza genocide began in October 2023. Football stadiums, training fields, and community sports halls have been reduced to rubble — deliberate acts that aim to erase Palestinian culture, unity, and resilience.

The August 6 massacre comes amid a broader Israeli escalation in southern Gaza, where intensified bombings have coincided with severe restrictions on humanitarian aid. The United Nations has warned that Gaza teeters on the brink of full-scale famine, with civilians — especially children — dying in growing numbers from starvation and preventable disease.

Israel, as in countless previous massacres, has issued no specific statement on the killing of al-Obeid. Its military continues to claim it targets only “terrorist infrastructure,” despite overwhelming evidence from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other bodies documenting indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilian populations and facilities.

The PFA, alongside Palestinian civil society and global solidarity networks, has renewed its demand for Israel’s suspension from all international sports federations, arguing that a state committing ongoing genocide cannot share the same fields of play built on principles of equality, respect, and fair competition.

The killing of al-Obeid is not an isolated case. Just days earlier, on July 28, 2025, Palestinian footballer Odeh Mohammad Al-Hathaleen was murdered by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank — another stark illustration of the lethal risks Palestinian athletes face simply for existing under occupation.

For Palestinians, Suleiman al-Obeid was more than an athlete — he was a living embodiment of resistance, hope, and national pride. His death, like the destruction of Gaza’s stadiums and the slaughter of its young athletes, is part of an Israeli strategy to shatter the spirit of a people through cultural and social annihilation.

As the world mourns al-Obeid, pressure is mounting on UEFA to break its silence and take meaningful action. Campaigners argue that just as apartheid South Africa was expelled from international sport, Israel must now face the same consequences for its crimes.

For Gaza’s youth, deprived of playgrounds, stadiums, and even the right to live, such action would send a powerful message: the world will not allow the beautiful game to be stained with the blood of the oppressed.

Until then, the name Suleiman al-Obeid will echo far beyond Gaza’s ruins — a symbol of dignity in the face of annihilation, and a call to every stadium and pitch in the world: choose justice over complicity, and humanity over genocide. (ILKHA)