THE ANNUAL CONGRESS of the Norwegian Football Federation [NFF] will this weekend vote on a motion to co-sponsor the FAI’s recent EGM call to exclude Israel from Uefa competitions.
The motion, brought forward by Norwegian grassroots football club Kringlebotn IL and seen by The 42, explicitly calls for Norway to “support this proposal or co-sponsor the proposal with the FAI”.
The Norwegian motion needs a simple majority among voting delegates to be adopted, estimated to be approximately 350 delegates.
A motion brought forward by Bohemians FC to an FAI EGM last November calling for Israel to be suspended from Uefa competition was passed by a 93% majority. The FAI motion points to alleged breaches of Uefa and Fifa statutes by the Israeli FA, regarding the Israeli FA’s alleged organising of matches on occupied territory and their alleged failure to enact an anti-racism and anti-discrimination charter.
The submission to the Norwegian congress quotes the same alleged breaches, and includes a hyperlink to the stating of these breaches on the Bohemians website.
While Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness last year called for Israel to be suspended from Uefa, the FAI remain the only Uefa member association to take the formal steps of calling for a suspension via a vote among members. This proposal seeks for Norway to follow Ireland’s formal lead.
Advertisement
“The NFF has so far been clearly critical of Israel’s participation in Uefa tournaments and this proposal formalises the view of Norwegian football,” state Kringlebotn in their proposal. “Israel cannot be allowed to carry out activities on the territory of another football association and must therefore be excluded.”
In notes to delegates ahead of the meeting, the Board of the NFF say they support the spirit of the motion, they do not support its adoption, as they believe the best means of raising the issue with football’s governing bodies is through existing channels.
“The Board does not want a decision that binds the Federation Board to a specific decision or working method in individual cases, as this could limit the scope for action to choose the means that are at any time considered to be most appropriate and effective,” say the NFF.
The NFF board point to Fifa on the matter, rather than Uefa, stating they believe it is unlikely that Uefa would sanction any member association currently being assessed by a higher body, in this respect Fifa.
“The Board of Directors considers it unlikely that Uefa will sanction the IFA [Israel Football Association] in these cases while they are being processed by Fifa’s independent bodies. It would be unnatural for a confederation (Uefa) to issue a decision on a case that is being processed at a higher organisational level,” they say, also referring to the lack of action in response to the FAI’s EGM motion.
“In addition, it is legally unlikely that Uefa can sanction violations of Fifa’s statutes. In this context, the Federation Board also refers to Uefa’s consideration of proposals from the FAI. The FAI sent its request to Uefa in November. Uefa rejected the cases in December. Although the Board shares the intention behind the proposal from Kringlebotn IL, the Board wants to maintain a strategic working methodology in international work.”
The Fifa process referred above is the world governing body’s ongoing handling of a May 2024 complaint by the Palestine FA, which cited the alleged violations of Uefa and Fifa statutes in calling for an Israeli suspension from competition.
Fifa referred this decision to their legal and governance committees, which have yet to deliver a final response.
The NFF say they are “highly critical of the lack of progress” on this issue, adding that “unclear processes and long case processing times undermine trust in Fifa and weaken the credibility of football.”
The NFF board say they have written to Fifa calling for progress and clarification on the matter, saying they expect it to be clarified no later than the Fifa Congress scheduled for 30 April this year.
Meanwhile, Kringlebotn have submitted a separate motion calling for the Norwegian FA to request the abolition of Fifa’s Peace Prize, the inaugural edition of which was awarded to US President Donald Trump last year.
The club say the award does not have clear criteria and appears “hasty and frivolous”.
The NFF share their criticism of the Peace Prize but do not support this motion on the same grounds as the Israel motion, saying their opposition would be better raised through established channels.
“The Board is highly critical of the prize as it was established and awarded,” say the NFF. “The prize was established by the Fifa President alone, the handling appears politically motivated and the prize appears designed for award to the President of the United States”, adding that “there are no objective criteria for awarding, and the prize does not have the necessary legitimacy. The presentation appeared to be in sharp conflict with political neutrality as affirmed in Fifa’s statutes.”
While the NFF tells members they can be assured the Federation will work to have the prize abolished, they repeat their reasoning for wishing to handle that work in a manner different to that proposed by the motion before Congress: they want to ” maintain a strategic working methodology in international work.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Norway FA to vote on motion to support FAI's call to exclude Israel from Uefa competition
THE ANNUAL CONGRESS of the Norwegian Football Federation [NFF] will this weekend vote on a motion to co-sponsor the FAI’s recent EGM call to exclude Israel from Uefa competitions.
The motion, brought forward by Norwegian grassroots football club Kringlebotn IL and seen by The 42, explicitly calls for Norway to “support this proposal or co-sponsor the proposal with the FAI”.
The Norwegian motion needs a simple majority among voting delegates to be adopted, estimated to be approximately 350 delegates.
A motion brought forward by Bohemians FC to an FAI EGM last November calling for Israel to be suspended from Uefa competition was passed by a 93% majority. The FAI motion points to alleged breaches of Uefa and Fifa statutes by the Israeli FA, regarding the Israeli FA’s alleged organising of matches on occupied territory and their alleged failure to enact an anti-racism and anti-discrimination charter.
The submission to the Norwegian congress quotes the same alleged breaches, and includes a hyperlink to the stating of these breaches on the Bohemians website.
While Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness last year called for Israel to be suspended from Uefa, the FAI remain the only Uefa member association to take the formal steps of calling for a suspension via a vote among members. This proposal seeks for Norway to follow Ireland’s formal lead.
“The NFF has so far been clearly critical of Israel’s participation in Uefa tournaments and this proposal formalises the view of Norwegian football,” state Kringlebotn in their proposal. “Israel cannot be allowed to carry out activities on the territory of another football association and must therefore be excluded.”
In notes to delegates ahead of the meeting, the Board of the NFF say they support the spirit of the motion, they do not support its adoption, as they believe the best means of raising the issue with football’s governing bodies is through existing channels.
“The Board does not want a decision that binds the Federation Board to a specific decision or working method in individual cases, as this could limit the scope for action to choose the means that are at any time considered to be most appropriate and effective,” say the NFF.
The NFF board point to Fifa on the matter, rather than Uefa, stating they believe it is unlikely that Uefa would sanction any member association currently being assessed by a higher body, in this respect Fifa.
“The Board of Directors considers it unlikely that Uefa will sanction the IFA [Israel Football Association] in these cases while they are being processed by Fifa’s independent bodies. It would be unnatural for a confederation (Uefa) to issue a decision on a case that is being processed at a higher organisational level,” they say, also referring to the lack of action in response to the FAI’s EGM motion.
“In addition, it is legally unlikely that Uefa can sanction violations of Fifa’s statutes. In this context, the Federation Board also refers to Uefa’s consideration of proposals from the FAI. The FAI sent its request to Uefa in November. Uefa rejected the cases in December. Although the Board shares the intention behind the proposal from Kringlebotn IL, the Board wants to maintain a strategic working methodology in international work.”
The Fifa process referred above is the world governing body’s ongoing handling of a May 2024 complaint by the Palestine FA, which cited the alleged violations of Uefa and Fifa statutes in calling for an Israeli suspension from competition.
Fifa referred this decision to their legal and governance committees, which have yet to deliver a final response.
The NFF say they are “highly critical of the lack of progress” on this issue, adding that “unclear processes and long case processing times undermine trust in Fifa and weaken the credibility of football.”
The NFF board say they have written to Fifa calling for progress and clarification on the matter, saying they expect it to be clarified no later than the Fifa Congress scheduled for 30 April this year.
Meanwhile, Kringlebotn have submitted a separate motion calling for the Norwegian FA to request the abolition of Fifa’s Peace Prize, the inaugural edition of which was awarded to US President Donald Trump last year.
The club say the award does not have clear criteria and appears “hasty and frivolous”.
The NFF share their criticism of the Peace Prize but do not support this motion on the same grounds as the Israel motion, saying their opposition would be better raised through established channels.
“The Board is highly critical of the prize as it was established and awarded,” say the NFF. “The prize was established by the Fifa President alone, the handling appears politically motivated and the prize appears designed for award to the President of the United States”, adding that “there are no objective criteria for awarding, and the prize does not have the necessary legitimacy. The presentation appeared to be in sharp conflict with political neutrality as affirmed in Fifa’s statutes.”
While the NFF tells members they can be assured the Federation will work to have the prize abolished, they repeat their reasoning for wishing to handle that work in a manner different to that proposed by the motion before Congress: they want to ” maintain a strategic working methodology in international work.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Congress FAI Israel Norway FA