Steve Reed (secretary of state for housing, communities and local government) has spoken out on a proposed World Cup ban for Israel. Unfortunately for Reed, his stance on the matter was quickly exposed as hypocritical, with one key critic being 2022-era Steve Reed:

Steve Reed opposes banning Israel from international football because it’s not right to “politicise sport.”

Here he is in 2022 calling for Russia to be banned from “all sporting and cultural events.” https://t.co/RoD72h1shv pic.twitter.com/UqjNEjbWzt

— Karl Hansen (@karl_fh) September 25, 2025

They’re staying home

As reported by Sky News:

UEFA – along with world body FIFA – is facing growing calls to suspend Israel’s national teams and club sides from international competitions.

A group of United Nations advisory experts says sporting sanctions are now needed after a UN commission of inquiry said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

The UN’s verdict of genocide is having ramifications for countries and organisations around the world. The UK has not formally accepted the verdict of genocide, and neither has America, which is why we’re seeing the following:

BREAKING: Sky News learns that the US government is trying to prevent Israel being banned from international football.

It’s after a UN human rights panel called for sporting sanctions on the country.

More from @RobHarris w/ @JayneSeckerSkyhttps://t.co/G8gDzyqv3Q Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/Lqlv1PxdE2

— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 25, 2025

Exclusive: Trump administration calls on FIFA not to ban Israel from football.

State Department tells @SkyNews: “We will absolutely work to fully stop any effort to attempt to ban Israel’s national soccer team from the World Cup.”

Read more here https://t.co/FtkLPpIfeP https://t.co/dzmzwgyLnd

— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) September 25, 2025

Oh dear.

This is even more embarrassing than when America invented a hand sport and called it ‘football’.

Another Labour hypocrite

People criticised Reed for his response to the proposed ban:

Should Israel be banned from international football?

Govt minister Steve Reed: “I’m not convinced that’s the right way to go about things, I’m not sure we should politicise sport in that way”

Reed would have opposed boycotting apartheid South Africa. Appalling politics. pic.twitter.com/pyyjiwFcx8

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) September 25, 2025

Reed embarrassed himself on other fronts too:

Should Israel be banned from international football?

Govt minister Steve Reed: “I’m not convinced that’s the right way to go about things, I’m not sure we should politicise sport in that way”

Reed would have opposed boycotting apartheid South Africa. Appalling politics. pic.twitter.com/pyyjiwFcx8

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) September 25, 2025

The Canary and our friends at Double Down News and Declassified UK have long reported on the scandals linked to Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney. This story is now threatening to bring down the government:

Keir Starmer’s Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney used £730,000 of illegally undeclared donations to fund a campaign to bring down Jeremy Corbyn and elect Keir Starmer as Labour Leader.

This Scandal Could Bring Down The Government: pic.twitter.com/VHoDMhaFTu

— Double Down News (@DoubleDownNews) September 24, 2025

Watch what happened when they asked Reed about his links to McSweeney:

Steve Reed’s internet connection conveniently cuts out when he’s asked about his links to Morgan McSweeney.

Got something to hide @SteveReedMP? pic.twitter.com/4aj6OiV9p7

— CCHQ Press (@CCHQPress) September 25, 2025

Saul Staniforth commented on those links here:

Govt minister Steve Reed dismisses the scandal surrounding the funding of ‘Labour Together’ & says “Morgan McSweeney… hes one of our countrys most effective political strategists. Its as simple as that”

In other news, Steve Reed helped found ‘Labour Together’ & sat on its board pic.twitter.com/rHiPlchs5H

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) September 25, 2025

A conman, a hypocrite, and a coward walk into a bar – ‘Hello, Steve Reed MP‘ says the barman.

BDS – but not for Israel in the World Cup?

At the same time that the world is looking to ban the Israeli football team, other countries are working to rid Eurovision of the taint of genocide:

5 countries will now boycott Eurovision if Israel takes part – Spain, Iceland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Ireland.

Back BDS. pic.twitter.com/jKalnydKkh

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) September 16, 2025

even if Israel gets kicked out of Eurovision this year, it will forever be shameful that it took almost two years of genocide for this to happen when it took only two days for Russia to be expelled

— Age Veri fication Hater (@chloetankahhui) September 24, 2025

Among them are the SNP’s Angus Robertson:

The UK should not take part in Eurovision Song Contest as genocide continues in Gaza. I have written to UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and BBC DG Tim Davie to call for the BBC to join other EBU members in calling for Israel’s exclusion from the Eurovision Song Contest. pic.twitter.com/4g0D5eDpyO

— Angus Robertson (@AngusRobertson) September 24, 2025

The American century of humiliation

Parallel to this story, right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson is claiming Benjamin Netanyahu told other Middle Eastern leaders he controls Trump:

Tucker Carlson blasted US leaders for letting Israel dictate American policy, saying Netanyahu brags about controlling Trump and the US, and called it “humiliating” that Americans are being forced into harmful decisions for another country.

Carlson said the “humiliation ritual”… pic.twitter.com/eoML06Erzw

— AF Post (@AFpost) September 24, 2025

Carlson is not a trustworthy news source, but he does speak for a growing movement of American right wingers who want to sever ties with Israel. The reason why this movement is growing is clear; it’s because the idea that Israel controls America is easier to sell than the idea that successive US presidents have simply enjoyed being humiliated by a supposed client state.

Do you remember when senile Biden said he saw pics of beheaded babies & then the White House had to retract his statement because Israeli Police said that never happened?

Yeah, well Trump just lied like Biden

Haaretz previously reported the fake claims come from Netanyahu pic.twitter.com/of8otBtwji

— GenXGirl (@GenXGirl1994) September 18, 2025

This movement on the right is dangerous because many of these people are genuinely and openly antisemitic. Politicians who bend over backwards to defend Israel’s honour in the middle of an ongoing genocide are only pushing more people towards the conspiratorial fringes. Hardly surprising from Reed given his links to the Labour right movement which ‘weaponised’ antisemitism to attack their enemies.

Featured image via Sky News

By Willem Moore

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