The Union of European Football Associations will continue a probe into potential discrimination at its matches in Hungary, which passed a major anti-LGBTQ+ bill last week.

Pride Armband Isn’t Political, UEFA Says

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has agreed that a rainbow armband worn by German soccer player Manuel Neuer is not political in nature, according to the German Football Association (GFA).

Neuer wore the band at two official matches during UEFA’s Euro 2020 Championship and once during a friendly match with Latvia to show support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride month.

Sunday, multiple outlets reported that UEFA was investigating Neuer’s armband as potentially political, possibly because LGBTQ+ rights have become somewhat of a flashpoint topic since the start of the tournament. Since UEFA does not allow players and teams to participate in “political demonstrations” at events, there were concerns the GFA could be hit with a fine. 

Later Sunday, the GFA said UEFA would consider the armband “a sign of support for diversity and thus for ‘good cause,’” and because of that, the team would not face any disciplinary action.

Discrimination Investigation at Hungary Games

The same day outlets reported the investigation into Neuer’s armband, they also reported that UEFA was investigating two matches in Hungary for potential discrimination.

At the first match, an anti-LGBTQ+ banner was spotted in the crowd. At the second, Hungarian fans marched with banners that called on players to stop kneeling to protest racism. 

Both events come as Hungary passed a bill against “LGBT propaganda” last week. Notably, that law bans the promotion or portrayal of homosexuality and gender reassignment. 

In protest of Hungary’s new law, Munich’s mayor has asked the UEFA to allow the city to light up its stadium in rainbow colors on Wednesday when the German and Hungarian teams square off.

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Naftali Bennett will take over as Prime Minister until September 2023, when Yair Lapid will take on the position as part of a power-sharing agreement.

Close Vote to Oust Netanyahu

Sunday night marked the end of an era in Israeli politics after Benjamin Netanyahu narrowly lost a No Confidence vote in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and was ousted from power.

Netanyahu managed to stay in power for 12 years, the last couple of which were because no parties could actually form a government, thus maintaining his position as Prime Minister. That same dilemma nearly happened Sunday when Netanyahu lost the No Confidence vote of 60-59, with one abstention.

Taking over in power is an extremely ideologically diverse coalition of parties that will see far-right leader Naftali Bennet serving as Prime Minister in a power-sharing deal. If the coalition holds together, Bennet will remain Prime Minister until September 2023, at which point he’ll hand over power to his deputy Yair Lapid, head of the largest centrist party Yesh Atid.

In addition to a far-right party and centrist party, there is a far-left party. For the first time, an Arab party was also included in the ruling coalition.

While Israeli politics is known for its fair share of odd partnerships, this coalition has some of the most opposed groups coming together. Among the biggest ideological wedge in the coalition is Palestine. Bennet supports the building of settlements and all-out annexation of the West Bank. Most of his allies support the creation of a sovereign Palestinian State. Despite this, the groups had two goals they cared about more than anything else: removing Netanyahu from power and avoiding the fifth election in just two years.

Problems Flare Already

Instead of tackling the hot-button issues, the coalition plans to avoid these topics and instead vowed to focus on rebuilding Israel’s economy and infrastructure, but those issues aren’t letting themselves be ignored. One of the first big issues the new coalition will face is an upcoming march by far-right, pro-settlement Israelis into Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem. Similar marches were cited by Hamas as a reason for launching hostilities between Gaza and Israel recently.

A week ago, Netanyahu approved the march, which is set to happen on Tuesday; however, there is now pressure that Bennet is in power to reroute or cancel the march. Bennett has a long history pushing for Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, but his allies want the march canceled or rerouted. Canceling the march could be seen as caving to pressure from Hamas, which has vowed to “respond” if it takes place.

This first test could mean the end of the coalition, especially as Netanyahu has railed against the new government by calling it a “dangerous coalition of fraud and surrender” and promising to “overthrow it very quickly.” He doesn’t need to do much to possibly make that happen. Only one or two Yamina or Yesh Atid members switching over could bring another No Confidence vote, another election, and possibly Netanyahu back in power.

If the current government’s loose coalition can last long enough, there’s a possibility that the constitute parties won’t have to worry about Netanyahu.

The former Prime Minister has been plagued with corruption charges and is currently navigating a series of trials for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges. If found guilty, he’ll be barred from holding office.

See what others are saying: (BBC) (The New York Times) (Axios)