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Colin Sheridan: Time to call time on Israel's sports whitewash

As the horror in Gaza continues, Israel continues to field teams internationally.

Mon, 04 Aug, 2025 - 06:56

Colin Sheridan is a writer and columnist. A former officer in the Irish Defence Forces he has extensive deployment experience as a peacekeeper with the United Nations, having lived and worked in the former Yugoslavia, West Africa, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine.

The Olympic Charter speaks of peace, unity, and the sanctity of sport. Yet while Israel remains firmly in international arenas -- from the Olympic stage to football pitches -- its military campaign in Gaza has decimated the very sports of Palestine. Israel continues to compete as normal, while its army, society and institutions preside over what a genocide. The moral hypocrisy is stark.

Since October 7, 2023, the Palestinian Football Association reports that nearly 786–800 Palestinian athletes and sports officials have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank, most in Gaza and 23 in the West Bank. That includes 437 footballers, plus coaches, scouts and administrators; hundreds hailed from youth and local clubs. Another source, the Palestinian Sports Media Association, notes 708 athletes, including 95 children. To put that in perspective: nearly the entire elite Palestinian sporting community has been wiped out.

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