There’s nothing quite like the World Cup, is there? It’s where the whole world puts aside their silly little wars, petty conflicts, and boring arguments for a month of watching millionaire footballers kick a ball around. The whole planet, united in a shared fantasy. It’s a lovely thought, really. Almost as lovely as a fairytale, or a one-off RM100 cash assistance from the government.

But this particular fairytale, the one being peddled by the people at FIFA, is looking a bit tattered these days. It seems the beautiful game is having a bit of an ugly moment. And if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll have noticed the growing noise from a movement that’s decided if the sport’s governing body won’t do the decent thing, the fans will. It’s called #GameOverIsrael, and it’s less about a football match and more about a bloody-minded refusal to look the other way.

This isn’t new, of course. People have been using sports as a megaphone for ages. Back in ’68, Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the Olympics a new fashion statement: the Black Power salute. It was a simple gesture that said more than a thousand politicians ever could. South Africa was banished from the international sports community because of its ludicrous apartheid regime. And it only took four days for FIFA to sanction Russia and Russian teams from football after they invaded Ukraine.

Now, this brings us nicely to the present, to a small but ferociously determined group of people who are pointing a very large, sarcastic finger at FIFA’s colossal hypocrisy. Because when it comes to Israel, a nation that has been accused by major human rights organizations of a genocidal campaign, the suits at FIFA suddenly get a bad case of the fumbles. They shuffle their feet, adjust their ties, and mumble something about “politics and sports not mixing.” It’s the most laughable line since your junkie uncle promised to pay you back your lunch money.

And now, the campaign is setting its sights on the biggest target of them all: the 2026 World Cup. Conveniently co-hosted by the United States of America, Israel’s loyal lapdog. The U.S. government, with a straight face, has been arming Israel with enough weaponry to level a city, while simultaneously pretending to be a neutral observer. It’s like a pyromaniac handing out matches and then tutting about the inferno. The World Cup, therefore, becomes the perfect stage to point this out.

So, what’s a football fan to do? What about the poor players who’ve trained their entire lives for this moment? What about the sheer, unadulterated joy of watching your nation lose in the quarterfinals? I hear you. And it’s a fair point. But here’s the thing: is it really more unfair for a footballer to miss a tournament than for a whole nation of people to be erased from the map? Is the integrity of a game more important than the integrity of a human life?

The real threat to the beautiful game isn’t a protest. It’s the moral bankruptcy of the people running it. It’s the idea that this global, unifying sport can be used as a distraction while real-world horrors unfold. The #GameOverIsrael campaign isn’t trying to destroy football. It’s trying to save its soul. It’s a defiant cry that says the stands, the players, and the fans won’t simply be part of the show while a co-host is funding a real-life tragedy.

If FIFA won’t suspend Israel, maybe the rest of the world should suspend its interest in FIFA. The real final whistle might not be on the pitch, but in the wallets of the corporate sponsors and the eyeballs of the global audience. And that is a game no one wants to lose.