Time for Wales to put humanity first and boycott Euro play-offs

With Israel’s campaign of genocide in Gaza now into its fifth month I find it absolutely staggering that its name went into the draw yesterday (8 February) for the 2024-25 Uefa Nations League, which did not contain the name of Russia because of its phoney stage-managed conflict with Ukraine.

Please explain why there is no place for Russia in the competition but Israel, which has slaughtered more than 20,000 innocent children and civilians in its ethnic-cleansing campaign in Palestine, gets to line-up alongside three of Europe’s best teams in the top echelon of the biennial tournament?

In the draw Israel came out in Group A2 alongside Italy, Belgium and France for the competition that takes place between September this year and the finals in June next year. That should leave its group opponents with the simple matter of notifying Uefa that they will boycott the event if Israel is allowed to compete. But for the 12 other teams in the A league the decision is a little more complicated because they would only have to face Israel if they qualified for the quarter-finals next year along with the terrorist state.

However, with the situation in Gaza as it is, that’s really overcomplicating the issue, the right thing to do on humanitarian grounds would be for Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Scotland, Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Spain, Denmark, Switzerland and Serbia to take a united stand with Italy, Belgium and France in pulling out of the tournament if Israel is allowed to compete.

Wales dropped into the second echelon for the 2024-25 Nations League tournament, even though commendable performances in 2022-23 were enough to secure qualification for the play-offs in March for the Euro 2024 finals being held in Germany during June and July this year.

Israel also qualified for those play-offs but the sides are in different paths so will not have to face each other to advance to the finals in Germany. But again the right thing to do is for all the nations involved in the play-offs, and those who’ve already qualified for the finals, to boycott Euro 2024 ahead of the play-offs next month if Israel is not disallowed from competing.

I have emailed the Football Association of Wales (FAW), Cardiff councillors and Senedd members calling for Wales to boycott the play-offs and set an example to the world to show that there is no place for genocide in sport… sadly there’s only been one genuine response so far amongst all the automated replies.

Mixing politics and sport is not something I have ever really been in favour of because of the role sport can play in bringing people and nations together. But sadly those days have long gone as major events have become prostituted of late as political footballs to further globalist agendas that saw Russia thrown out of the Euro 2024 qualifiers and the Nations League.

So what's good for the goose should also be good for the gander too… Israel should have no part to play in any sporting event until there is a permanent ceasefire and international solidarity to bring down the apartheid state.

In the meantime it falls on sporting authorities to do the right thing and the FAW can set a precedent here... but with the Euro 2024 play-off semi-finals less than six weeks away time is running out for Wales to take a stand.

Finland are the opponents in the play-off semi-final on 21 March at Cardiff City Stadium and I urge both authorities to boycott that game unless Israel is thrown out. But, if a decision to do that is not forthcoming, I beseech all members of Wales’ “red wall” to take a stand for humanity and boycott the game.

I waited much of my life to see Wales compete at the highest level in the “beautiful game” but this year it won’t be Pele that breaks hearts it will be our football authority’s complicity in genocide if it condones Israel’s participation.

So I call on FAW Chief Executive Officer Noel Mooney, Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford, Senedd Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Dawn Bowden and Secretary of State for Wales David Davies to act now to make a resounding resolution that Wales will not condone genocide and demands Israel be thrown out of the world football family until the ethnic cleansing in Palestine stops.

And if that decision is not forthcoming before the match against Finland on 21 March I call on Wales’ amazing supporters to stand up for humanity if our politicians and the FAW won’t and boycott the match. The world has to be made aware that genocide will not be condoned by Wales.

But boycotting the play-offs, the Euro 2024 finals and Nations League are not the only course of action available. Uefa and all international sporting events depend on sponsors to sustain them.

Global partners for Euro 2024 include Alipay, Atos, Hisense, BYD, Engelbert Strauss, Vivo, EA Sports, Betano, Lidl, Unilever, Adidas, Booking.com and Coca-Cola, while local partners comprise Bitburger, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Telekom, ERGO Group and Wiesenhof.

Once again if Uefa will not act to throw out Israel from the play-offs then I would suggest boycotting all the above companies unless they withdraw their support for the competition.

It’s not a difficult concept to grasp, Israel is carrying out a genocidal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Gaza and too many of our world leaders are complicit, with Uefa, Unilever, Adidas, Booking.com and Coca-Cola also all condoning it. So if the humanity of these organisations, and many more, has been eroded by greed and self-interest it is time for the citizens of the world to replace them and make a clear statement their actions are not acceptable and demonstrate that humanity is still alive across the globe in the hearts of decent people.

Uefa has just reaffirmed its stance that Israel’s status in European football is not in question, however I would beg to differ and call on football supporters across the continent to make it loud and clear that Israel is not welcome until Palestine is free from occupation.

Despite Israel being drawn at home to face Iceland in the play-offs next month the match has been diverted to Budapest’s Szusza Ferenc stadium for security reasons.

Reaffirming its complicity in the genocide in Gaza, Uefa followed the propaganda narrative that the slaughter of innocent children and civilians in Palestine represents a security threat to Israel… really? But perhaps it has more to do with the Iceland players being afraid to play there in the presence of the ghosts of thousands of dismembered children slaughtered in Gaza.

The match will instead be played in Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long promoted the country as the safest country in Europe for Jews and has banned Palestinian solidarity protests, arguing they present a threat to public safety. But Israel’s genocide in Gaza is simply hunky dory?

The winner between Israel and Iceland will advance to a play-off final five days later on 26 March, away against Bosnia-Herzegovina or Ukraine. If Ukraine advances, that game will be played in Wroclaw, Poland, as Kyiv (better known as Kiev) cannot host international games for “security reasons” either.

But these steps are not genuinely being taken for safety reasons, they are simply in line with the World Economic Forum narrative… the propaganda that is leading the world down the path to an impending global conflict. Sport has now become inextricably mired in this charade, but it’s as plain as day that Israel should not play any further part in Euro 2024... that it is not the case just adds veracity to the existence of a WEF agenda that Uefa has sworn allegiance to! Shame on you Uefa!