The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has condemned the killing of Palestinian goalkeeper Saleem Khader Al-Ashqar by Israeli forces in Gaza this week, renewing calls for accountability amid Israel's killing of hundreds of athletes and sportspeople.
In a statement issued on Friday, the UK-based legal organisation called for FIFA to expel Israel from football's governing body, arguing that Al-Ashqar's death "underscores Israel's targeted and indiscriminate killing of Palestinian sporting figures and civilians." "FIFA’s continued failure to take action over Israeli football clubs based in illegal settlements is an affront to its own statutes, which clearly outline that FIFA members cannot play games in the territory of another association without permission," the organisation said. According to the Palestine Football Association (PFA), al-Ashqar was shot by Israeli forces on Wednesday in the town of al-Qarara, outside Khan Younis in southern Gaza. His death brings the number of Palestinian sports figures killed since the start of the war to at least 1,009, including 567 members of the football community. "As the world’s attention remains fixed on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States and FIFA celebrates football as a force for unity, inclusion, and respect, Palestinian footballers continue to be killed with impunity by Israel," Órlaith Roe, ICJP's Public Affairs and Communications Officer, said in a statement provided to The New Arab. "FIFA’s continued inaction is not neutrality, but a brutal betrayal of its own statutes and the values it claims to uphold." Al-Ashqar played as a goalkeeper for Khadamat Khan Younis and previously represented Gaza clubs Al-Aqsa and Al-Musaddar. At the time of his death, he and his wife of five months were expecting their first child. His killing follows that of Palestinian footballer Suleiman al-Obeid , who was shot dead by Israeli forces in August last year while attempting to collect humanitarian aid. His death was among the highest-profile killings of a Palestinian athlete since the outbreak of the genocidal war in Gaza on 7 October 2023 . Palestinian football, along with the wider sporting community, has been severely affected by Israel's war - which has disrupted domestic leagues, training programmes and players' careers. Players, clubs and sporting infrastructure have also been repeatedly impacted by Israeli military raids in the occupied West Bank. For years, the PFA has urged FIFA to suspend Israel from international football, arguing that it has violated international law through attacks on Palestinian athletes and sports facilities, as well as the participation of Israeli clubs based in settlements in the occupied West Bank. The calls have intensified as Russia remains suspended from senior international football competitions following its invasion of Ukraine . Further criticism emerged after reports that FIFA president Gianni Infantino had proposed staging a football match between the Palestinian and Israeli under-15 national teams ahead of a global youth football festival due to take place in the United States in September, despite ongoing calls for Israel's suspension from international football.