Yeah, at least not full time …
Every Israeli football player is a soldier.
Joining the Israeli army is mandatory in order to become a football player in the national team.
This is one of many reasons why the Palestine Football Association (PFA) is asking FIFA to expel Israel and uphold its own rules and regulations.
When the Ukraine war began, athletes from Russia and Belarus were forced to compete as “neutral” athletes. This meant no flag, no anthem, and no connection to the armed forces or support for the war.
Not only are all Israeli football players soldiers, but they regularly advertise and promote the Israeli army, posting photos of themselves in their Israeli army fatigues, and inciting genocide on social media.
One Israeli football player, Shon Weissman asked: “Why haven’t 200 tonnes of bombs already been dropped on Gaza?”. He's in the Israeli air force.
His teammate Tomer Yosefi said on Instagram: “We’ll erase Gaza permanently”.
Even the Israeli women’s team put together a montage where they switch back and forth between their Israeli army uniforms and football jerseys. The message is clear: we are not just football players, but soldiers, and proud of it.
FIFA claims that football should be impartial and apolitical. Yet many Israeli football clubs host receptions for Israeli soldiers, fundraise for them, promote recruitment, and post pro-war propaganda online and obituaries for dead Israelis.