"Under plans being worked out by the European game's governing body that are expected to be voted on by its executive committee this week, the Guardian understands Israel would be banned only from competitions that Uefa directly controls. That means Israel's men's and women's national teams would be excluded from the Nations League and Maccabi Tel Aviv would be removed from this season's Europa League."
"The World Cup, however, is a Fifa competition, for which Uefa organises the qualifying format and fixtures within Europe. This is done in collaboration with Fifa but only subject to the global governing body's approval. Acting unilaterally to remove Israel would be a politically complicated decision, and one that appears to have been avoided. In the absence of a wider ban, however, Uefa would be in the unusual position of staging World Cup qualifiers for a nation otherwise excluded."
"If Israel were blocked from Uefa's competitions, the spotlight would spring back to Fifa. Last week a US state department spokesperson warned that it would absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel's national soccer team from the World Cup. Fifa's president, Gianni Infantino, has formed a close relationship with Donald Trump in the buildup to next year's World Cup, which the US is co-hosting."
Uefa plans would exclude Israel only from competitions that the organisation directly controls, removing national teams from the Nations League and Maccabi Tel Aviv from the Europa League. The World Cup is a Fifa competition, and Uefa organises the European qualifying format and fixtures only with Fifa's approval. Acting alone to remove Israel from World Cup qualifying would be politically complex, so Uefa appears to be avoiding a unilateral decision. In the absence of a broader ban, Uefa would still stage World Cup qualifiers for Israel despite excluding it from some Uefa tournaments. The US state department warned it would oppose any World Cup ban.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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