Today (Tuesday), Swiss local parliamentarians in the canton of Vaud will vote on withdrawing UEFA’s tax exemption. UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon are located in the canton of Vaud.
The argument behind the resolution is that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian land in the West Bank. The IFA has teams in the West Bank and UEFA members who benefit from tax breaks in Switzerland. Ergo, because UEFA does not pay taxes in Switzerland, Swiss citizens in Vaud finance the illegal activities of the IFA.
The text of the resolution reads:
“As an international federation, that is true [UEFA] has long benefited, despite its significant commercial activities, from a tax exemption specifically granted because international sports federations play an important role in promoting peace and combating racism and discrimination.
“UEFA has long placed these concerns at the heart of its decisions. For example, its commitment to peace was one of the motivations cited in support of the sanctions the organization adopted following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. However, it is clear that this goal is not being pursued today.”
If the resolution is passed, the next stage will be for the Vaud government to set a deadline for UEFA to argue its justification for not sanctioning the IFA. Promoting peace and combating racism and discrimination are a condition for tax exemption. This in turn could lead to administrative procedures to withhold or change the conditions of the tax exemption. UEFA would have the right to appeal any decision to the court.
“Although the State of Israel has announced its intention to suspend access to Gaza for more than 30 international NGOs, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. Israel also approved the creation of 19 new settlements at the end of December. By persisting in its failure to respond and continuing to recognize clubs in illegally occupied territories, UEFA is sending a signal that it approves of these actions. Football deserves better than that,” said Théophile Schenker, member of the Cantonal Parliament of the canton of Vaud.
The Geneva Conventions – international humanitarian law that sets rules for humane treatment during armed conflict – were established in Switzerland, which as a nation values its neutrality and reputation. While there is little doubt that the Israelis have and continue to continually violate convention, the question is whether calling out UEFA actually violates their own neutrality by putting economic pressure on an international institution (in this case UEFA) to secure a political outcome.
The next step for Vaud politicians is likely to put the same pressure on the Olympic movement and the nearly sixty international sports federations and organizations headquartered in and around Lausanne, which is also in the Swiss canton.
A follow-up could also be to put similar pressure on the canton of Zurich, where FIFA has its headquarters.
“The Swiss authorities should know that their international reputation as custodian of the Geneva Conventions, a leading supporter of humanitarian law and host of the UN Human Rights Office, is itself on trial in this trial,” said Craig Mokhiber, International Human Rights Lawyers and former UN Human Rights Director.
“UEFA is not entitled to a tax status reserved for sporting and cultural organizations that ‘promote peace’ internationally until their complicity in such crimes against humanity has ended.”
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