The European Union’s sports commissioner suggested a BDS-like boycott of Israeli athletes in European sports due to the war in Gaza, Politico reported on Monday.
“When it comes to sports, I think there should be no space in sporting events for those who do not share our values,” European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef told Politico in response to a question about whether Israel should face sporting sanctions over the war.
“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,” said Micallef, who is from Malta.
He was responding to a question that referenced Spanish President Pedro Sánchez’s recent call for banning Israel’s participation in the just-concluded Eurovision Song Contest over its military actions in Gaza. Sánchez urged banning Israel from future song contests.
Israel finished second in the competition. The singer, Yuval Raphael, was a survivor of the Nova Music Festival massacre, having survived by hiding under dead bodies for eight hours.
“Sport is a tool that we use to promote peace, through which we promote human rights,” Micallef said.
“On the other hand, the sport movement is autonomous, and they make their own decisions,” Micallef noted. “But we have a duty and we have a responsibility to speak about these issues and to make our feelings known.”
Micallef, speaking at a May 21 debate in the European Parliament on Gaza, said, “There’s been bloodshed [in Gaza] and civilians that are paying the price.”
Israel has come under increasing pressure from Europe in recent weeks, with the E.U. deciding to review a Europe-Israel pact dealing with political and economic ties.
Israel has faced past calls for boycotts of its participation in international sports. Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub has made repeated efforts to ban Israel from FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, most recently in 2024.
In 2018, Rajoub was hit with a 12-month match suspension and a fine for inciting hatred and violence when he called on football fans to target the Argentinian Football Association and burn jerseys and pictures of Lionel Messi over a friendly match scheduled between Argentina and Israel in Jerusalem.
The match was later canceled over fears of violence.
