The former goalkeeper for the Swedish women's national team, Hedvig Lindahl, said she refused an invitation from the International Football Association "FIFA" to join the "FIFA Legends" team, in order not to have her image used in promoting the FIFA Peace Award, according to Al Jazeera.
Lindahl explained that she received an invitation to assist in promotional work from "FIFA" for the upcoming Women's World Cup, but she refused.
She added: "I cannot, because I feel that by doing so, I would be accepting what FIFA has done, which is using their brand to polish ongoing war crimes."
She noted that she "has been following what's happening in the world over the past years, specifically in Gaza, where people are being exterminated by Israel with support from the United States."
She mentioned that "many footballers who were killed have not been honored by FIFA," saying: "I felt that they crossed the red line. They cannot award a peace prize while this is happening in the world."
Lindahl considered the failure to expel Israel from international competitions to be hypocritical, especially since Russia was banned days after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The former goalkeeper for Atletico Madrid and Chelsea called for "consequences for what Israel has committed, as it is an occupying power."
She affirmed that "the people under occupation have their rights, and their voice must be heard in this story, and this side of the story has not been heard. I do not believe that FIFA or others have taken their responsibility."
Lindahl emphasized the responsibility of those working in the sports field from various professions to speak out about unacceptable issues in this world, such as what is happening in Palestine.
She concluded by saying: "Politics and sport are linked to each other, and I believe that we, as former or current players, coaches, representatives of governing bodies of sport, major sports organizations, and clubs, have a responsibility to say no when our values are not respected and are used to polish heinous crimes... We must say: no."
