A YOUR PARTY councillor in Glasgow has written to the Scottish FA urging them to put principle over points and boycott an upcoming match with Israel. 

On Tuesday the Scotland women’s national team were drawn against Israel in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, with games to take place between February and June next year. 

In 2024 the SFA ignored calls for a boycott of the match, with large-scale protests taking place at Hampden Park. 

In a joint letter with campaigners Show Israeli Genocide the Red Card, Cllr Leodhas Massie wrote that the SFA allowing the games to go ahead would be a “clear-cut case of sportswashing, and would make the SFA complicit in the genocidal acts which continue to be carried out by the Israeli state.”

The letter says the SFA should refuse to take part in the matches, including boycotting them if necessary, to ensure sporting representatives of Israel are not welcomed to Scotland while tens of thousands continue to die. 

Cllr Massie commented: “The opportunity to take a clear stand against the appalling genocide which continues to rage in Gaza is one which cannot be ignored. The possibility of points towards World Cup qualification may seem important, but they should pale in comparison to the need to show solidarity with Palestinians who are being systematically killed by the Israeli state. Israel uses sporting events such as this to legitimise its image on the world stage, and we cannot be complicit in its attempts to wash its hands of the genocide it is perpetrating.

“We would encourage representatives from the SFA to meet with us to understand the gravity of these issues. The SFA must commit to boycotting these two games and back international calls for Israel to be banned from Uefa competitions, as has happened with other rogue states.”

Maree Shepherd of Show Israeli Genocide the Red Card, who have called for mass protests opposing the hosting of Israel’s sporting representatives, added: “Since we last protested the Israeli women’s football team playing in Scotland, the genocide on Palestinians reached unspeakable depths. Subsequently, the so-called ceasefire has been broken time and again by Israel as they continue to murder innocent Palestinians. 

“Allowing Israel to be represented in sport across the world, while those in Gaza have their lives destroyed whitewashes their horrific war crimes and sends a message that their actions are acceptable. Sports bodies in Scotland and across the world must end their complicity and refuse to host Israel.”