FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that football “cannot solve geopolitical problems”, as he comes under pressure to suspend Israel over the Palestinian conflict.

The sport’s world governing body said in a statement that at a meeting of the FIFA Council, Infantino “stressed the importance of promoting peace and unity, particularly in the context of the ongoing situation in Gaza”.

“At FIFA, we are committed to using the power of football to bring people together in a divided world,” Infantino said.

“Our thoughts are with those who are suffering in the many conflicts that exist around the world today, and the most important message that football can convey right now is one of peace and unity.”

A Palestinian man stands amid the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli strike, in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on September 28, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

He added: “FIFA cannot solve geopolitical problems, but it can and must promote football around the world by harnessing its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values.”

FIFA banned Russia in 2022, shortly after Russian forces invaded Ukraine — despite the fact that Russia hosted the World Cup finals four years earlier.

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