In a letter, legal experts have underscored the killing of Palestinian footballers and a UN panel’s finding that Israel is committing genocide.

More than 30 legal experts have called on the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to bar Israel and its clubs from competitions over the atrocities in Gaza.

The letter, addressed to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin on Thursday, said banning Israel is “imperative”, citing a report by United Nations investigators that confirmed Israel is carrying out a genocide against Palestinians.

It urged the football governing body and its members to “fulfil their legal and moral obligations to uphold international law, and move forward with an immediate and complete ban of Israeli football”.

The letter highlighted the damage that Israel is inflicting on the sport in Gaza. At least 421 Palestinian footballers have been killed since Israel began its military offensive in October 2023, and the letter explained that Israel’s bombing campaign is “systematically destroying Gaza’s football infrastructure”.

“These acts have decimated an entire generation of athletes, eroding the fabric of Palestinian sport,” it read.

“The failure of the Israel Football Association (IFA) to challenge these violations implicates it in this system of oppression, rendering its participation in UEFA competitions untenable.”

The letter’s signatories included