Sports lawyer Ilya Skoropashkin analyzed the news that clubs from Israel may be suspended by UEFA from participating in European competitions in the 2025/26 season.
Ilya Skoropashkin— In your opinion, how realistic is a ban for clubs from Israel and have there been similar precedents in the past?
— Any decision to suspend a national football association is a complex legal process. A formal basis and decisions from the competent UEFA bodies, which are made according to a clearly established procedure, are required for such a ban.
As of September 21, 2025, UEFA’s official channels have not announced consideration of the issue of suspending the Israeli Football Association on September 23, 2025. The last announced meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee took place on September 11, 2025, in Tirana. Thus, the message about the “vote on September 23” has not yet been officially confirmed.
— Nevertheless, have there been similar punishments before?
— The closest substantive precedent is Russia’s suspension in 2022, which continues to this day. It affected national teams and clubs and survived challenges in the CAS. The suspension was based on a group of national associations officially refusing to play against teams from Russia.
Similarly, there is the case of Yugoslavia in 1992, which was based on UN Security Council Resolution No. 757.
A ban on Israel is possible if a significant number of federations formally refuse to play matches against Israeli teams in writing. Then UEFA will have a precedential basis for such a ban. Currently, this is more of a political campaign than an active legal procedure. Without formal grounds, a quick decision should not be expected.
— Now we are talking about clubs, but does a similar exclusion from the qualification for the 2026 World Cup also threaten the national team of Israel?
— Sanctions of this kind apply not to individual clubs or teams, but to the national football association as a whole. Thus, such suspensions comprehensively extend to all national clubs, their teams, as well as national teams in all competitions.
— In the qualification of the Europa League, Maccabi from Tel Aviv knocked out Kyiv’s Dynamo (3:1, 0:1). So, in the event of a political ban, will the Kyiv team play in the main phase of this tournament instead of them?
— When a team is disqualified, a gap is created in the tournament grid. UEFA’s regulations and practices demonstrate a consistent model for filling this gap to ensure the integrity of the competitions.
Let’s recall the Champions League of the 2013/14 season. Kharkiv’s Metalist was disqualified after defeating the Greek PAOK in the third qualifying round. UEFA decided to reinstate PAOK in the tournament, and they played in the playoff round against Schalke.
Thus, in the event of a hypothetical disqualification of a club from Tel Aviv, there is a possibility that Dynamo may play in the Europa League instead of Maccabi. As we can see, there have been similar precedents.
Viktor Glukhensky
