The British Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball team has been accused of breaching the game’s sporting code of conduct when players turned their backs as the Israeli national anthem was played.  The incident occurred on 16 August 2025,  prior to an international fixture in Cologne, Germany.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has written to Justine Baines, CEO of British Wheelchair Basketball, to raise “serious concerns”, regarding breaches of the association’s Code of Conduct and Diversity and Inclusion Plan.

The letter explained that the requirement to respect team-mates, the other team, the officials and the coaches was disregarded.

The letter also pointed out that the sporting organisation’s obligation not to engage in behaviour that constitutes any form of abuse or harassment was ignored. The British team’s behaviour could cause offence, humiliation and distress to both opposing athletes and their supporters.

The duty to be “a good sport, applaud all good performance, whether by your team or by the opponent” was breached. The conduct displayed was antithetical to sportsmanship and undermines the integrity of international competition.

The behaviour of the British team “clearly sends the message that Jewish players are not welcome in British Wheelchair Basketball,” the letter concluded.

It has been reported that the chairman of the Israel Paralympic Committee, Moshe Matalon, intends to protest to the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation for the British team’s  “shameful behaviour, which goes against the spirit of Paralympic sports.”

A spokesperson for  UKLFI  commented:

“Instead of keeping politics out of sport, the British players caused offence, humiliation and distress to both the opposing athletes and their supporters, and breached the Basketball’s code.  We have asked for a formal investigation into the incident , and hope that disciplinary sanctions will be carried out to show players that such conduct is  inconsistent with the values of the sport and will not be tolerated.”