Israel must be banned from any football-related activities for violating FIFA’s statutes amid the war in Gaza, according to an independent legal analysis by lawyers who specialise in international law and human rights, Reuters reports.

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) had submitted a proposal to suspend Israel in May, with FIFA ordering an urgent legal evaluation while promising to address it at an extraordinary meeting of its council in July.

Attorney Max du Plessis, who was part of the case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice, co-wrote the analysis along with Sarah Pudifin-Jones after they were approached by Eko, a social justice non-profit organisation.

“There can be no doubt that Israel’s conduct in Palestine has undermined, and continues to undermine, FIFA’s objectives,” the report said.

The Palestinian proposal accuses the Israel Football Association (IFA) of complicity in violations of international law by the Israeli government and discrimination against Arab players. The IFA rejected that.

Eko said their petition calling on FIFA, the International Olympic Committee and sporting federations to ban Israel from international sport had received over 380,000 signatures.