Israeli soccer player Manor Solomon in a uniform featuring the Reebok logo (Israeli Football Association/X)
The Israeli Football Association says Reebok reversed course only after legal threats.
By World Israel News Staff
Athleticwear giant Reebok has denied reports that it surrendered to pressure from the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, after Israel’s national soccer team said the company demanded its logo be removed from team jerseys.
“Reebok is proud of our record as a unifier of all cultures on and off the pitch. Reports in Israeli news outlets claiming that Reebok has directed the IFA [Israeli Football Association] to remove its logos from its national team kits are simply not true,” a company spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday evening.
“We will continue to honor our brand’s and our local licensee’s commitment to the IFA. We don’t do politics; we do sport.”
The Israeli Football Association, however, disputed Reebok’s denial. According to the IFA, Reebok did demand that its logos be removed but reversed the decision only after the sports body threatened legal action for breach of contract.
“Reebok reversed its decision and the Israel national team’s uniforms in international matches will continue to feature the company’s logo as it has been up to now,” the IFA said in a Hebrew-language statement.
On Tuesday morning, the IFA publicly accused Reebok of “caving to irrelevant and embarrassing boycott threats.”
The controversy comes after German sportswear brand Puma ended its sponsorship of Israel’s national team in December 2023.
At the time, Puma insisted the decision had been made in 2022 and was unrelated to political considerations.
Since the October 7 Hamas massacres and the subsequent war in Gaza, Israel has faced mounting hostility throughout the international sports world.
“Israel is committing genocide: Soccer federations, boycott Israel,” read an electronic sign in New York’s Times Square, displayed in September and paid for by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).
In August, the Italian Coaches’ Association penned a letter to the president of the Italian soccer federation (FIGC), demanding that Israel be excluded from the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
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