Liverpool, 27 September 2026 – The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) and War on Want hosted a Labour Party Conference fringe event on Sunday examining how corporate sponsorship, football governance, and the treatment of fans are contributing to the normalisation of Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians within English football.
The event, “Red Card: How Israel’s Atrocities Against Palestinians are Being Normalised in English Football”, followed the publication of the Red Card report, which examines Premier League clubs’ sponsorship relationships with corporations linked to Israel’s illegal occupation and violations against Palestinians.
The panel of speakers included:
- Tayab Ali – Director, International Centre of Justice for Palestinians and Head of International Law at Bindmans LLP
- Neil Sammonds – Head of Public Affairs at ICJP and lead author of the Red Card report
- Shaista Aziz – The Three Hijabis
- Jess Barnard – Labour National Executive Committee
- Tyrone Scott – War on Want
- Imran Mulla – Middle East Eye, moderator
The panel explored the relationships between Premier League clubs and their corporate sponsors, the responsibilities of football’s governing bodies, and the treatment of football supporters and staff who have expressed solidarity with Palestinians.
Neil Sammonds of ICJP, who previously worked as War on Want’s Senior Campaigner on Palestine and was the lead author of the Red Card report, spoke about the research underpinning the report and its findings on corporate sponsorship across the Premier League. The Red Card report places Liverpool FC at the top of its “Table of Complicity”, based on the club’s relationships with corporate sponsors identified in the research.
Sammonds also discussed attempts to secure political accountability over the relationships identified in the report, including correspondence involving Zarah Sultana MP which has yet to receive a response.
Tayab Ali, Director of ICJP, placed the corporate relationships identified in the report within the wider legal context, drawing attention to eyewitness accounts and evidence collected by ICJP concerning Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Ali called for a government-led regulatory framework requiring companies to ensure they are not involved in or contributing to atrocities in Gaza, and highlighted the legal responsibilities arising from the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 Advisory Opinion on Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory.
The ICJ found Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory to be unlawful and set out obligations on states not to recognise as legal, or render aid or assistance in maintaining, the situation created by Israel’s unlawful presence. Ali argued that these obligations must be reflected in the government’s approach to British companies and their commercial relationships.
The event also heard about cases involving football staff and supporters who have faced consequences after expressing solidarity with Palestinians.
Panellists discussed the case of Mark Bonnick, a long serving Arsenal employee who was dismissed after more than 20 years at the club for expressing support for Palestine on social media, despite the Football Association finding no evidence of antisemitism. The panel also raised the case of Roger Wade, who received a five-year ban from Brighton’s stadium for wearing a Palestine-related top.
Shaista Aziz, co-founder of The Three Hijabis, addressed what she described as the cultural destruction inflicted on Palestinian society, drawing particular attention to Palestinian footballers who have been killed by Israel.
Her intervention highlighted the contrast between the devastation of Palestinian sporting life and the continued commercial relationships between major English football clubs and companies linked by the report to Israel’s occupation and abuses against Palestinians.
Jess Barnard, a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee, discussed the role and responsibilities of football’s governing bodies, including FIFA, for contributing to the impunity enjoyed by Israel and called for more support for Palestinian football.
The panel also heard directly from Liverpool supporters. Moderator Imran Mulla read a letter from a Liverpool FC supporter responding to the findings of the Red Card report.
“The history of the club is woven into the fabric of our lives,” the supporter wrote, describing “profound anger and betrayal” at learning that their club sat at the top of the report’s “Table of Complicity”.
The letter invoked Liverpool supporters’ own history of confronting injustice and fighting for the truth to be recognised, questioning how a club so closely associatedwith those experiences could maintain lucrative relationships with corporations linked to abuses against Palestinians. The supporter warned against Liverpool FC being used to “sportswash atrocities”, calling on the club to live up to the values with which generations of its supporters have identified.
The event concluded with calls for accountability across English football – from Premier League clubs and their corporate sponsors to football’s governing bodies – alongside government action to ensure that British companies and institutions are not contributing to serious violations of international law.
The discussion formed part of wider calls at Labour Party Conference for the government to translate its commitments on Palestine into concrete measures addressing both state and corporate involvement in Israel’s unlawful occupation and violations against Palestinians.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.
- The event, “Red Card: How Israel’s Atrocities Against Palestinians are Being Normalised in English Football,” was hosted by War on Want and ICJP on Sunday 27 September 2026 at the Hilton Hotel Liverpool City Centre.
- Please contact the ICJP press team at [email protected] for further information, photographs or interview requests.
