ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey on Friday became the first UEFA member to publicly call for Israel to be suspended from soccer, calling the situation in Gaza “inhumane and unacceptable.”

Turkish Football Federation president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu’s letter to international soccer leaders comes as European body UEFA moves toward a vote to suspend Israel, whose men’s team is in the middle of qualifying for next year’s World Cup.

“It is now time for FIFA and UEFA to act,” Haciosmanoglu wrote in the letter quoted by the Anadolu news agency.

“Despite positioning themselves as defenders of civic values and peace, the sporting world and football institutions have remained silent for far too long,” the Turkish official said.

Haciosmanoglu is not on the 20-member UEFA ruling committee, which is expect

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