‘Game Over Israel’: Global Campaign Urges FIFA, UEFA to Expel Rogue State from World Football

News Network
September 24, 2025

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A growing global movement is demanding that Israel be banned from world football, as the death toll of Palestinian athletes under Israeli bombardment continues to mount.

Fourteen-year-old Mohammed Ramez Al-Sultan, a youth player at Gaza’s Al-Hilal Club, was killed alongside 14 family members in an Israeli airstrike last week. Just days earlier, fellow Al-Hilal player Malik Abu Al-Amaren was shot dead by Israeli occupation forces while waiting for food aid. Suleiman al-Obeid, the “Palestinian Pelé,” and Mohammed Barakat, the “Legend of Khan Younis,” were also among dozens of football stars killed in Israel’s ongoing assault.

According to the Palestine Football Association (PFA), Israel’s genocidal war has killed more than 774 members of the sports community, including 355 football players, while many others remain missing under rubble. In December, Gaza’s main football stadium was even turned into a detention and torture camp by Israeli forces.

The destruction of sports infrastructure and indiscriminate killing of athletes has fueled outrage worldwide. A new campaign, “Game Over Israel,” launched with a billboard in New York’s Times Square, calls on FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel, as they did with Russia just four days after its invasion of Ukraine.

The initiative has gained backing from football icons like Eric Cantona, Gary Lineker, Walter Zenga, as well as public figures including Liam Cunningham, Yanis Varoufakis, and Richard Falk. They accuse FIFA of hypocrisy for tolerating genocide while preaching fair play.

Cantona noted: “We are now more than 700 days into genocide, yet Israel still plays. Why the double standards? FIFA and UEFA must suspend Israel, and clubs everywhere must refuse to play them.”

Governments and football associations are also joining in: Spain’s Prime Minister has called for Israeli teams to be banned, Italy’s Coaches’ Association has urged suspension, and Norway pledged to donate proceeds from its match against Israel to Gaza aid.

Despite repeated appeals from the PFA, FIFA continues to stall, handing the issue to committees instead of taking decisive action. FIFA chief Gianni Infantino has been widely condemned for political coziness with pro-Israel allies, ignoring the bloodshed in Gaza.

Supporters of the boycott say football can be the cultural domino that triggers wider isolation of Israel. As campaign manager Ashish Prashar put it: “Football is the first domino. There should be no normalization in abnormal times.”

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
November 26,2025

Mangaluru, Nov 26: Mangaluru East police have registered a case following a sophisticated online fraud where a 57-year-old local resident was allegedly cheated out of ₹13.4 lakh after being targeted on Facebook.

The scam began in February when the complainant, while browsing Facebook reels, was contacted by a woman identifying herself as "Lillian Mary George" from London. After establishing a chat relationship, the woman claimed she would visit India in November and bring a significant sum of money.

The trap was sprung on November 15, when the victim received a call from a woman named "Sonali Gupta," who claimed Lillian had arrived at Mumbai International Airport but was detained by customs. The fraudsters convinced the man that Lillian was carrying £25,000 (about ₹26 lakh) in traveller’s cheques and 1 kg of gold (valued at around ₹30 lakh).

Under the pretense of clearing these items, the victim was asked to make numerous online transfers between November 15 and 18 for various bogus charges, including:

•    "Pounds exchange registration"
•    "Customs declaration issues"
•    "Discount charges"
•    "Money-laundering charges"

Believing the fictitious story, the complainant transferred the cumulative sum of ₹13.4 lakh to various bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. He realised he was cheated when the culprits later promised a refund within two days but stopped answering his calls. The Mangaluru East police are now investigating the case, which highlights the continuing threat of transnational cyber fraud using social engineering and promises of fictitious wealth.

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News Network
November 27,2025

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Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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