‘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 4,2025

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Domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights from three major airports — Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru — on Thursday, December 4, as the airline struggles to secure the required crew to operate its flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots.

While the number of cancellations at Mumbai airport stands at 86 (41 arrivals and 45 departures) for the day, at Bengaluru, 73 flights have been cancelled, including 41 arrivals, according to a PTI report that quoted sources.

"IndiGo cancelled over 180 flights on Thursday at three airports-Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru," the source told the news agency.

Besides, it had cancelled as many as 33 flights at Delhi airport for Thursday, the source said, adding, "The number of cancellations is expected to be higher by the end of the day."

The Gurugram-based airline's On-Time Performance (OTP) nosedived to 19.7 per cent at six key airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — on December 3, as it struggled to get the required crew to operate its services, down from almost half of December 2, when it was 35 per cent.

"IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, leading to cancellations and huge delays in its operations across the airports," a source had told PTI on Wednesday.

Chaos continued at several major airports for the third day on Thursday because of the cancellations.

A spokesperson for the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru said that 73 IndiGo flights had been cancelled on Thursday.

At least 150 flights were cancelled and dozens of others delayed on Wednesday, airport sources said, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, according to news agency Reuters.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation, as well as its plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

It may be mentioned here that the pilots' body, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze".

The FIP said it has urged the safety regulator, the DGCA, not to approve airlines' seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services "safely and reliably" in accordance with the New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

In a letter to the DGCA late on Wednesday, the FIP urged the DGCA to consider re-evaluating and reallocating slots to other airlines, which have the capacity to operate them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if IndiGo continues to "fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages."

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News Network
December 1,2025

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Udupi, Dec 1: A horrific case of alleged rape has unfolded in Udupi, where a worker from a Hindutva organisation, previously arrested and released on bail for harassing a young woman, is now accused of waylaying and sexually assaulting her.

The arrested individual has been identified as Pradeep Poojary (26), a member of the Hindu Jagarana Vedike's Nairkode unit in Perdur.

Poojary had allegedly been relentlessly harassing the young woman, pressuring her to marry him. When she bravely stood up to him and refused his demands, she filed a formal complaint at the Hiriyadka police station. He was subsequently arrested in that initial harassment case but was later granted bail.

According to police reports, driven by the same malicious grudge, Poojary allegedly intercepted the woman again on November 29. While she was walking through a deserted area, the accused is claimed to have threatened her by grabbing her neck. When she again refused to marry him, he allegedly proceeded to rape her.

The survivor immediately informed her family about the traumatic assault. Following this, her parents lodged a complaint at the Udupi women’s police station.

Police arrested Poojary again and produced him before the court. He has since been remanded to judicial custody.

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News Network
December 4,2025

Udupi: A 40-year-old NRI from Udupi has reportedly lost more than Rs 12.25 lakh in an online investment scam operated through Telegram.

According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, Leo Jerome Mendonsa, who has been working in Dubai for the past 15 years in computer accessories sales, maintains NRI accounts in Karkala and Nitte.

On November 12, 2025, Mendonsa was added to a Telegram group called Instaflow Earnings by unknown individuals. Users identified as Priya and Dipannita persuaded him to invest in “Revenue Tasks.” Initially, Mendonsa transferred Rs 1,100 multiple times and received the promised returns, encouraging him to continue.

On November 14, another user, Nishmitha Shetty, directed him to register on a website, digitvisionuoce.cc, and invest Rs 4 lakh in various shares. Over the next few days, he made multiple transfers totaling Rs 12,25,000, including Rs 50,000 via Google Pay, believing the scheme was legitimate.

After receiving the money, the alleged handlers stopped responding, and neither the invested amount nor the promised profits were returned.

The CEN police have registered a case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigations are ongoing.

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