European Commissioner for Youths and Sports Glenn Micallef has hinted that he thinks that Israel should be banned from sporting events over their actions in Palestine.
Micallef was asked by Politico whether he felt that Israel should face sporting sanctions over the war in Gaza.
“When it comes to sports, I think there should be no space in sporting events for those who do not share our values,” Micallef said, without naming Israel directly.
“Sport is a tool that we use to promote peace, through which we promote human rights,” he said.
“On the other hand, the sport movement is autonomous, and they make their own decisions,” Micallef added. “But we have a duty and we have a responsibility to speak about these issues and to make our feelings known.”
Backlash against Israel over its actions in Palestine has been growing, particularly as it continues with incessant air strikes and as political pledges that it was ready to over-run and occupy all of Gaza. This intensified after the Israel Defence Forces admitted to firing “warning shots” at a diplomatic delegation which was visiting the West Bank.
The latest conflict in Palestine has been ongoing since 7 October 2023 when Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel and killed some 1,200 people and took several hundred others hostage. Israel responded with a bitter military offensive which has seen over 50,000 Palestinians killed, cities reduced to rubble, and those still alive facing famine.
Calls for Israel to be banned from international events in the same vein that Russia was banned after its war in Ukraine have so far been largely ignored.
This included the recent Eurovision Song Contest, which Micallef was also asked about, particularly as more and more countries express their view that Israel should not be allowed to participate in the popular competition.
“These spaces are big stages for political messages, big stages where we should promote values that we stand for in the Union, and where we should give space to those who have similar values to us in general,” Micallef told Politico in response to a question on the contest.
“These are issues I have discussed already with the European Broadcasting Union,” he said.
Micallef faced questions after he represented the Commission during a debate on Gaza within the European Parliament, as he said that it is civilians who are paying the price of the conflict.
“It’s a catastrophe. You see so many children, civilians, young people, without food and water, without access to humanitarian aid, humanitarian aid that should be allowed to flow at scale to people in Gaza and in Palestine,” he said.