Lise Klaveness, President of the Norwegian Football Federation. (Agencies)

The president of the Norwegian Football Federation has called for suspending Israel’s participation in international competitions ahead of an expected UEFA vote this week regarding Israel’s involvement in European tournaments.

Norway is scheduled to play Israel on October 11 in World Cup qualifiers in Oslo, where a home win would secure their qualification for next year’s finals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Lise Klaveness, who also serves on UEFA’s executive committee, ruled out boycotting the match but said sanctions against Israel are necessary.

In a local podcast interview, she said: “I am interested in this issue from a principles perspective but we will not boycott the match ourselves. A boycott would only lead to Israel going to the World Cup instead of us.”

She added: “Overall, we are now working to impose sanctions on Israel. We believe it should be so, and this is about adhering to the rules.”

She explained: “Personally, I think that since Russia is out of the system, Israel should be out as well. As a football official, you can have personal opinions, and I certainly have mine.”