FIFA faces protests in Toronto over Israel ties ahead of Canada World Cup match

Protesters unfurled a large banner near Toronto's World Cup logo on Friday, condemning FIFA's ties to Israel just hours before Canada's opening match. Demonstrators, wearing shirts reading "Jews for a free Palestine," dropped a banner stating "Kick Israel out of FIFA." The banner was visible to commuters on the Gardiner Expressway, a major route, as they headed to the stadium for Canada's game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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Kick Israel out of FIFA

Activists, organized by a group calling for the release of prominent Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya captured by the Israeli military in Gaza in late 2024, accused FIFA of enabling Israel's actions against Palestinians. Faisal Ibrahim, a spokesperson for the activists, told Reuters that FIFA "not only turns a blind eye to the Israel Football Association's playing of games on illegally occupied West Bank and Syrian territory, it actually actively broadcasts those games, thereby normalizing occupation and erasure, which makes FIFA an active and complicit participant."

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Jews for a free Palestine

In March, FIFA stated it would not act against Israeli clubs accused by the Palestine Football Association of competing from Palestinian territory. The global soccer body cited the unresolved legal status of the West Bank under public international law. Meanwhile, Israel's war in Gaza has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, a hunger crisis, and prompted assessments of genocide from scholars and a UN inquiry. UN experts have also urged FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel from international football.

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FIFA not only turns a blind eye to the Israel Football Association's playing of games on illegally occupied West Bank and Syrian territory, it actually actively broadcasts those games, thereby normalizing occupation and erasure, which makes FIFA an active and complicit participant.