I am writing to urge you to immediately end the league’s sponsorship deal with Barclays, due to the bank’s complicity in Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians. Football is based on the values of fairness and equality – a bank enabling grave human rights abuses has no place in the beautiful game.
Research released in May 2024 by Palestine Solidarity Campaign, War on Want and Campaign Against Arms Trade identified that Barclays has substantial financial ties to companies supplying Israel with weapons and military technology used in its attacks on Palestinians. The bank holds £2billion in shares, and provides financial services worth £6.1billion to nine companies supplying weapons and military technology to Israel.
Israel’s ongoing bombardment and ground invasion of the besieged Gaza Strip has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, a sizable proportion of whom are children. 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, most multiple times. Nowhere in Gaza is safe; entire residential neighbourhoods have been levelled, UN schools sheltering the displaced, and hospitals treating the wounded, have been repeatedly targeted. Israel’s attacks have killed hundreds of Palestinian footballers, and demaged or destroyed all sports facilities in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice, the world court, has ruled it plausible that Israel is committing genocidal acts in its assault on Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has refused to abide by the binding interim measures issued by the Court.
The UN Human Rights Council, the highest human rights body of the UN, has demanded that all states impose an arms embargo on Israel, as called for by Palestinian civil society. This call is echoed by hundreds of human rights organisations, including Save the Children and and Amnesty International.
In June, UN experts issued a statement outlining that all states and companies must end arms transfers to Israel. Further, they warned financial institutions with ties to companies arming Israel that “[F]ailure to prevent or mitigate their business relationships with these arms manufacturers transferring arms to Israel could move from being directly linked to human rights abuses to contributing to them, with repercussions for complicity in potential atrocity crimes.” Despite this, Barclays continues to provide financing to companies arming Israel.
Barclays has faced a sustained campaign by human rights activists. Tens of thousands of people of conscience across Britain have joined a boycott of Barclays as a way of forcing the bank stop enabling Israel’s grave violations of international law. Further, the bank was forced to end its sponsorship of all festivals this summer as hundreds of bands and artists refused to perform at Barclays sponsored events. The league's continued association with Barclays is not only unethical, it could lead to severe reputational damage.
The beautiful game should not be used to provide cover for a bank enabling grave violations of international law and human rights. Please confirm you will end the league’s sponsorship deal with Barclays.