Uefa could ban Israeli sides from its competitions

Uefa could decide as early as next week whether to suspend Israel from its competitions, with the governing body facing growing pressure from inside and outside the game.

- Paul MacInnes

Reports yesterday, initially in the Times, suggested a vote that would determine Israel's participation in World Cup qualifying and that of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League could be held by Uefa's executive committee before the international break begins on 6 October.

Uefa said no meetings were scheduled for next week, with the next exco gathering due on 3 December. But sources inside national federations said events appeared to be coming to a head and that Uefa and its president, Aleksander Ceferin, were increasingly expected to take action.

There have been an increasing number of interventions away from the game. On Tuesday, a group of senior diplomats called on Uefa and Fifa to enact a ban after the publication of a report by the United Nations independent international commission of inquiry that found Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. Last week, the campaign group Game Over Israel took over a billboard in New York's Times Square to call for federations to boycott any matches with the country.