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A group of the Middle East’s football associations has asked world football chiefs to ban Israel over the war on Hamas in Gaza, according to a letter seen by Sky News.

But the Israeli Football Association has urged FIFA to keep politics out of sport and allow them to continue trying to qualify for the men’s European Championship this summer.

The bid to banish Israel’s footballers is led by Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, half-brother of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, in his role as president of the West Asian Football Federation.

That 12-nation grouping also includes the FAs of Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The letter was sent to all 211 national football federations and the six regional confederations, including UEFA, of which Israel is a member and is today holding its annual congress in Paris.

Jordanian FA president Prince Ali wrote: “We, the West Asian Football Federations, encompassing all its members, call upon FIFA, the Football Confederations, and Member Associations to join us in taking a decisive stand against the atrocities committed in Palestine and the war crimes in Gaza, by condemning the killing of innocent civilians including players, coaches, referees, and officials, the destruction of the football infrastructure, and taking a united front in isolating the Israeli Football Association from all football-related activities until these acts of aggression cease.”

The Israeli FA called on football authorities to reject the bid to ban them but held out an olive branch for peace by wishing Jordan good luck in its first-ever appearance at the Asian Cup final on Sunday against Qatar.

“I am trusting FIFA not to involve politics in football,” Israeli FA CEO Niv Goldstein told Sky News.

“We are against involving politicians in football and being involved in political matters in the sport in general.

“So, we are concentrating only on football matters and our dream is to qualify for the European Championship in 2024 and I’m looking forward to world peace.”

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

FIFA has banned Russia from international football over the unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – sparking questions in Jordan about inconsistencies in approaches to nations at war.

“This is not for me to decide,” Mr Goldstein said. “And obviously we think there is a lot of difference between our situation and other situations that happened in the world.”

Israel’s government insists it is acting in self-defence and only began the war on Gaza after Hamas launched raids on its territory on 7 October, killing around 1,200 Israelis and other nationalities.

Prince Ali’s letter does not mention those massacres – the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust – nor the more than 130 people being held hostage in Gaza since being abducted from Israel that day.

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But the letter references the “magnitude of suffering endured by women, children, and innocent civilians, including football players and athletes, as well as the indiscriminate destruction of sports facilities” in Gaza.

Israel insists it is acting proportionally and takes care to avoid innocent deaths. More than 27,000 people have been killed in Gaza so far, according to the Hamas-led health ministry there.

“The humanitarian crisis demands an unequivocal and resolute response from the global football community,” Prince Ali wrote.

“As members bound by the statutes of FIFA, we stand united in our pledge to uphold all internationally recognised human rights.”

Large parts of Gaza have been devastated in the Israeli offensive. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Large parts of Gaza have been devastated in the Israeli offensive. Pic: Reuters

Israel began competing in the Asian Football Confederation in 1954 but faced opposition from countries refusing to play them.

They qualified through Asia for the 1970 men’s World Cup but the team was then excluded from AFC tournaments from 1974.

They went on to play in Europe and Oceania for future World Cup qualification campaigns before joining the European governing body, UEFA, as a full member in 1994.

Israeli teams also compete in the Champions League and Europa League.

The national team has never qualified for a European Championship but is two games away from the finals in Germany in June.

In March, there is a play-off semi-final against Iceland and the winner plays Bosnia-Herzegovina or Ukraine.

The build-up to the Eurovision Song Contest in May is also seeing pressure to ban Israel as Russia was kicked out of the competition in 2022.

Russia was banned from Eurovision Song Contest, which Ukraine won in 2022. Pic: AP
Image:
Russia was banned from the Eurovision Song Contest, which Ukraine won in 2022. Pic: AP

But the European Broadcast Union has said that was a “fundamentally different” situation and backed Israel to remain in the contest.

The Israeli FA also hopes to fend off the latest attempts to expel its teams. FIFA and UEFA provided no immediate comment to Sky News.

But Jordanian royal Prince Ali wrote to FAs, including the UK home nations: “It is with a sense of profound responsibility and commitment to the principles of human rights, justice, and peace that we implore your engagement in this crucial matter.”

It was only following the Oslo Accords in 1998 that the Palestinian FA was able to join FIFA and it competes as Palestine.

The men’s team reached the round of 16 for the first time at the Asian Cup last month.

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Several killed after vehicle drives into crowd at street festival, police in Vancouver say

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Several killed after vehicle drives into crowd at street festival, police in Vancouver say

A number of people have been killed and multiple others injured after a driver drove into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver, police have said.

The driver has been taken into custody after the incident shortly after 8pm local time on Saturday, police added.

People were in the area near 41st Avenue and Fraser Street for the Lapu Lapu Day Block Party, named after a national hero of the Philippines.

Vancouver’s mayor Ken Sim said in a post on X: “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event.”

He added: “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time.”

Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least seven people lying immobile on the ground.

A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in photos from the scene.

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially ‘historic’ meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope’s funeral

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Trump criticises Putin after potentially 'historic' meeting with Zelenskyy before Pope's funeral

Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.

The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.

The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Follow live updates: 200,000 mourn at Vatican

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
Image:
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”

The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.

Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.

Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.

Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
Image:
The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Trump and Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
Image:
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica

But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.

The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.

The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.

There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.

U.S President Donald Trump attends the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
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Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters

Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.

He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.

Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”

The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.

They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.

“The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems,” they said in a post on X.

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

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What we learn from remarkable photos of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.

In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.

They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.

Leaning forward hands together in their laps, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy stare at each other in one photo.

In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.

The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope's funeral
Image:
The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral

Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.

We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.

But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.

Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.

Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.

The world leaders share a moment before the service
Image:
The world leaders shared a moment before the service

Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.

They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.

The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.

Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.

If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.

This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.

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