The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has praised the Norwegian Football Federation after its president reportedly called on FIFA, football’s world governing body, to investigate Israel for humanitarian violations ahead of a qualifying match between Norway and Israel next year.

Following Saturday’s announcement of the forthcoming ties for the qualifying stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will see Israel and Norway go head-to-head on March 25 and October 11, Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation, said it was “difficult” to see her country paired to compete with Israel.

She said: “The draw is difficult for us, beyond the purely sporting aspect. None of us can remain indifferent to the disproportionate attacks that Israel has inflicted on the civilian population of Gaza over a long period of time.

“Israel is still part of UEFA competitions. We have to deal with that. We are following the situation closely with FIFA, UEFA, and the Norwegian authorities.”

Klaveness added that the NFF is advocating for FIFA to address sanctions against Israel and is actively involved in pushing Israel to be suspended from international sporting competitions.
She noted that her statement was in line with the position of her government, which has called for sanctions against Israel on the international stage and imposed sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank. In May, Norway became one of three European countries, including Ireland and Spain, to official recognise Palestinian statehood.

Despite a number of international news outlets reporting that the Norwegian national team would be boycotting the matches, no statement to that end has been made and the fate of the matches is yet to be seen.

Norwegian Football Association President Lise Klaveness talks to journalists (Credit: PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)

The Palestinian Football Association has welcomed Klaveness’s “principled position” in “calling on FIFA to investigative Israel’s violations ahead of the World Cup qualifier.”

In a statement posted to the PFA website, the body expressed “its full appreciation for Norway’s recognition of the ongoing violations against Palestinian civilians and athletes,” and commended the president’s remarks as echoing “the sentiments of millions around the world who believe that FIFA and the international football community cannot remain silent while grave breaches of human rights persist.”

The PFA charged the Israeli Football Association (IFA) with “systematically violating FIFA statues by tolerating racism, serving as a tool for Israeli annexation of occupied territory and encouraging the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

The PFA has made repeated efforts to have FIFA and other football governing associations ban Israel from attending all international competitions.

Norway has been a harsh critic of Israel since the Israel-Hamas war began nearly 15 months ago, when the Palestinian terror group entered Israel and massacred more than 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 260 – of whom about 100 are still held in captivity.