Oslo – The Norwegian Football Association has rejected its team’s match against Israel in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. This is a result of the conflict occurring in Gaza.
The Norwegian national team is in Group I for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the European zone. Erling Haaland and his team are in the same group as Israel, Estonia, and Moldova.
Each team will meet their opponent twice in home-away matches. Norway is scheduled to visit Israel on March 26, 2025, and host the Star of David Nation on October 11.
Norway’s draw in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers received a comment from the President of the Norwegian Football Association (NFF), Lise Klaveness. She refused her team to play against Israel and called on UEFA to impose sanctions on Israel.
Klavaness argued that Israel deserves sanctions due to the attacks on Gaza’s civilian population since the October 7, 2023, assault. More than 45,000 people have been victims in the armed conflict over the past 14 months. “The Norwegian Football Association supports the Norwegian government in its demand to immediately end the disproportionate attacks on innocent civilians in Gaza,” Klavaness said, as reported by i24News Francais. “This draw is difficult for us, beyond the purely sporting aspect.” None of us can remain indifferent to the disproportionate attacks that Israel has carried out against the civilian population of Gaza for a long time.”
“Israel is still part of the UEFA competition. We have to deal with it.” “We are closely monitoring this situation together with FIFA, UEFA, and the Norwegian authorities,” he said.
Norway had previously protested the selection of Saudi Arabia as the host country for the 2023 World Cup. They raised concerns about human rights issues occurring in the Petro Dollar Nation.
