About 50 athletes worldwide, including Frenchman Paul Pogba and Moroccan Hakim Ziyech, signed a statement demanding the exclusion of all Israeli teams from competitions organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).

The participants raised the slogan “Athletes for Peace,” emphasizing that they come from diverse backgrounds and beliefs but share the same view that “sports must support the principles of justice, fairness, and humanity.”

The campaign also includes Dutch player Anwar El Ghazi, Malians Cheick Diabaté and Cheick Doukouré, English boxer Zak Shelly, and British coach Nigel Pearson.

They added that it is possible and indeed necessary to suspend the membership of national teams representing countries committing serious human rights violations, as has happened in the past.