Brighton, 3 October 2026 – Today the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) and War on Want hosted a Green Party Conference fringe event 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.
This year’s event discussed the recently published ‘Red Card’ report How Israel’s Atrocities Against Palestinians are Being Normalised in English Football, which examines Premier League clubs’ sponsorship relationships with corporations linked to Israel’s illegal occupation and violations against Palestinians.
The panel of speakers included:
- Neil Sammonds – Head of Public Affairs and Communications at ICJP
- Tyrone Scott – War on Want
- Dania Abul Haj – Senior Legal Officer at ICJP
- Cllr Martin Abrams – Leader of Lambeth Council
The event was moderated by Cllr Jonathan Purcell of Tower Hamlets, with remote contributions from Roger Wade, a Brighton football fan who was banned from the Amex Stadium for five years for wearing a Palestine football jersey.
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, ICJP’s Head of Public Affairs and Communications, 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.
All clubs have received legal letters and copies of the report. None have responded so far.
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. Inquiries by Ellie Chowns MP and Iqbal Mohammed MP are also yet to receive responses by the government.
Tyrone Scott, War on Want’s Head of Campaigns, detailed the report’s ‘Premier League Table of Complicity’, which is topped by Liverpool and includes 11 clubs with directly complicit corporate sponsors, and called for ethical frameworks to be implemented in English football. He added that the ‘Show Genocide the Red Card’ campaign is “not blaming football fans for decisions made in boardrooms’ but emphasised the importance of involving fans in holding clubs to account.
Dania Abul Haj, ICJP’s Senior Legal Officer, centred the discussion in the lived realities of Palestinians on the ground, and detailed the realities of Israel’s apartheid and genocide against Palestinians. Of the Red Card report and the sportswashing of Israel’s crimes, she said ‘this report is about how an illegal occupation is kept alive” by the complicity in other countries and bodies like the Premier League.
Cllr Martin Abrams also highlighted Israel’s targeted killing of Palestinian footballers since the start of the genocide in 2023, with the Palestinian Football Association reporting that at least 567 Palestinian footballers have been killed since the start of the genocide.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
- The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.
- For more information, to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, please contact the ICJP news desk at [email protected].
