A banner displayed by the UEFA at a match on Aug. 13, 2025 at the UEFA Super Cup in Udine, Italy. Photo: X/UEFA

The British charity Campaign Against Antisemitism accused the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) of double standards and promoting a centuries-old, antisemitic blood libel following the union’s decision to display a banner that said “Stop Killing Children – Stop Killing Civilians” before a match on Wednesday night.

UEFA unfurled the banner before the start of the UEFA Super Cup final in Udine, Italy, between Paris Saint-Germain and London’s Tottenham Hotspur, the latter of which has a large Jewish fanbase. The banner was featured on the field before kick-off as the players lined up inside the Stadio Friuli.

UEFA said on Wednesday that its Foundation for Children invited two refugee children from the Gaza Strip, who have been impacted by the Israel-Hamas war, to take part in the medals ceremony at the match, and nine children who are refugees in Italy participated in the opening ceremony by holding the banner. The nine children are from different conflict zones around the world including Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, “Palestine,” and Ukraine, according to the UEFA.

Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) criticized the offensive banner in a post on X, claiming that the union’s “selective outrage” about the Israel-Hamas war “tells us everything about the double standard that still poisons European discourse on Jews.”

The UEFA “has said nothing about the Jewish hostages kept in barbaric captivity for almost two years, nor about the incessant attacks on Israeli civilians throughout this war from terrorists in Gaza and throughout the Middle East,” CAA noted. “But all of sudden, they have chosen a Spurs match — a club commonly associated with the Jewish community — to unfurl this banner.”

“For centuries, Europe has traded in the blood libel that Jews kill children, and clearly the trope remains as popular as ever. UEFA says that ‘the message is clear.’ After two years with no acknowledgement of the Jewish children murdered, maimed and traumatized by this war, the message is clear indeed,” CAA added.

Last night, before the UEFA Super Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur in Udine, Italy, UEFA unfurled a banner which read: “Stop killing children. Stop killing civilians.”https://t.co/T70ZHaZoeB@UEFA has said nothing about the Jewish hostages kept in…

— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) August 14, 2025

Speaking to The Times, a UEFA insider claimed the banner was “not political but about humanity — in fact you could say it is just common sense.”

In the past, soccer clubs have been penalized by the UEFA for displaying political banners. In 2016, Scotland’s Celtic soccer team was fined after its fans waved Palestinian flags during a match against Israel’s Hapoel Beer Sheva. UEFA viewed the flags as “illicit” banners. Celtic was also fined in 2013 after an “illicit” banner was displayed by fans during a Champions League match against AC Milan. However, Celtic was ultimately not fined when fans displayed an oversized anti-Israel banner at a match earlier this year.

Most recently, UEFA fined the Serbian team Partizan Belgrade after fans displayed a “Kosovo is Serbia” banner at a match, the Associated Press reported.