Decathlon

Key Findings

• Economic: Decathlon established a directly operated Israeli retail business in 2017 and transferred its Israeli operations to Union Group under a franchise arrangement in 2025. The Israeli-registered company Union Sport Ltd is identified as the local website operator. The branded business maintains a retail network, domestic ecommerce and distribution infrastructure, establishing a continuing commercial relationship with the Israeli economy.^{1, 2, 3, 4}
• Economic: The Decathlon Foundation supported an Israeli girls’ football initiative in December 2025 and was subsequently reported as partnering with an Israeli disability-inclusive sports organisation in August 2026. Both programmes concern civilian social inclusion through sport. Their monetary values and complete funding arrangements were not publicly established.^{5, 6, 7}
• Political: Decathlon publicly committed financial assistance, equipment and operational support in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in March 2022. The political audit identified no equivalent publicly documented Palestine-specific humanitarian response. This comparative finding supports a limited political-impact assessment, without establishing affirmative support for Israeli military operations or state policy.^{8, 9}
• Not found: No public evidence identified of qualifying Israeli military procurement, defence technology provision, surveillance contracts, settlement-based retail operations or settlement-specific equipment supply attributable to Decathlon or its identified Israeli franchise operator. The examined store directory did not establish a branch in an occupied-territory settlement.^{10, 11, 12, 13}

Target Profile

Executive Summary

Decathlon is a privately controlled French sporting-goods group founded in 1976. Its international business combines product design, manufacturing, distribution and retail. For 2025, the company reported €16.8 billion in net sales, €20.7 billion in gross merchandise volume, €1.8 billion in EBITDA and €910 million in net income. It operated 1,902 stores across 82 countries or regions. These figures establish Decathlon’s overall commercial scale, but the reviewed disclosures do not provide equivalent revenue or profitability figures for its Israeli operations.^{17, 16}

Decathlon entered Israel in August 2017, opening its first store in Rishon LeZion under direct French corporate management. Its Israeli business subsequently expanded into a national retail network, with ecommerce operations and a logistics centre established in Caesarea in 2022. An additional store opening was announced in Ashdod in July 2024. During 2025, Decathlon moved to transfer its directly operated Israeli business to Union Group, associated with George Horesh, under a franchise arrangement. December 2025 reporting described the acquisition as completed, while Israeli website terms identified Union Sport Ltd as the local operating company. The transaction changed the ownership and operating structure of the Israeli business while preserving its Decathlon-branded commercial presence.^{1, 21, 22, 23, 2, 24, 3}

The strongest documented Israel nexus is economic. The Israeli operation encompasses retail outlets, domestic online sales, logistics, local employment and an advertised institutional sporting-goods service. Its recruitment website reports approximately 500 employees. The Decathlon Foundation has also been associated with two civilian Israeli sporting programmes: support for girls from asylum-seeker and migrant-worker families through the Bo’atot football initiative, and a subsequently reported partnership with Eitan – Everybody Can for inclusive sport in Beersheba. These activities establish commercial and social-programme relationships within Israel. They do not establish military financing, settlement investment or support for Israeli security institutions.^{21, 25, 4, 5, 6}

The political record is narrower. Decathlon’s substantial and publicly documented humanitarian response to the Ukraine war contrasts with the absence of an equivalent Palestine-specific public humanitarian programme identified by the political audit. The company also faced Palestine-related criticism from French employee-union representatives and demonstrations concerning its historical retail sale of Puma merchandise. These records establish public controversy and limited comparative conduct, but do not establish Decathlon’s endorsement of Israeli military operations, political lobbying for Israeli state policy or suppression of Palestinian advocacy. No public evidence identified of qualifying military or digital involvement. The settlement-related allegations examined also remained unsubstantiated.^{8, 26, 27, 28}

Under the fixed, human-vetted Complicity Index V6.5 assessment, Decathlon receives Economic 7.00, with Military 0.00, Digital 0.00 and Political 0.00. The political Impact criterion is 2.50, but its Magnitude and Proximity criteria are both zero, producing a zero political domain score. The resulting BDS Responsibility Score is 583, Tier C - Substantial Complicity. Within this methodology, that classification is driven by documented economic integration through a qualifying Israeli franchise relationship. It is an evidence-based scoring classification, not a judicial determination that Decathlon participated in military operations, unlawful settlement activity or another specific legal violation.

Timeline of Relevant Events

Corporate Overview

French Corporate Structure

Decathlon originated in France in 1976 and describes itself as a family-owned sporting-goods company. The principal French corporate entity, Decathlon SE, is registered under number 306 138 900, with its headquarters in Villeneuve-d’Ascq. Decathlon France is separately identified as a French simplified joint-stock company registered under number 500 569 405 at the same headquarters address.^{14, 17}

The group is associated with the Mulliez and Leclercq families, with employee participation in its ownership structure. Its 2025 corporate disclosure reported 52,491 employee shareholders, representing approximately 51% of its workforce. Michel Leclercq is identified as the company’s founder, while Julien Leclercq and Javier López assumed the chairman and chief executive positions respectively in 2025.^{18, 16, 19}

Decathlon’s documented commercial mission centres on sport, retail and product development. Its corporate disclosures do not establish an Israeli state-directed governance mandate, Israeli beneficial control or a founding political objective concerning Israel-Palestine.^{17, 16}

Israeli Operating Structure

Decathlon’s Israeli business began under direct French corporate management in 2017. By 2025, it encompassed a national retail network, ecommerce activities and associated logistics infrastructure.^{1, 21, 23}

In September 2025, reporting identified Union Investments & Development Ltd, associated with George Horesh, as the proposed purchaser of Decathlon’s Israeli operating business. The reported acquisition involved the existing stores, commercial assets and franchise rights. December reporting subsequently described the transfer as completed.^{20, 2, 24}

The Israeli website’s contractual terms, dated 21 December 2025, identify Union Sport Ltd, company number 515523256, as the operator and a member of Union Group. Public corporate records independently identify Union Sport Ltd as an Israeli private company incorporated on 14 September 2016.^{3, 15, 31}

The reviewed reporting describes acquisition of the Israeli operating business, including a reported proposed purchase of 100% of that business. This must not be confused with ownership of the international Decathlon brand or a verified shareholder extract for Union Sport Ltd.

Unresolved ownership details: No public evidence identified establishing Union Sport Ltd’s complete authenticated shareholder register, ultimate beneficial ownership percentages, precise directors, equity-option arrangements or any retained equity or convertible interest held by Decathlon SE. The financial and operational terms of the continuing franchise relationship, including royalty rates and contractual control provisions, also remain undisclosed.^{20, 3, 15, 31}

Israeli Commercial Infrastructure

Decathlon Israel’s recruitment materials describe approximately 500 local employees and a Caesarea logistics centre established in 2022. The published delivery policy identifies warehouse facilities at Hashaham 17, Caesarea, together with home delivery, parcel collection, warehouse collection and store pickup. The operation also advertises institutional sporting-goods sales through its ecommerce website.^{21, 25, 4}

The official store directory identifies commercial locations including Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion, Netanya, Krayot, Gan Shmuel, Beersheba, Eilat, Kfar Saba, Petah Tikva and Ashdod. December 2025 reporting indicated that ten stores would remain following the planned closure of the Jerusalem Talpiot branch.^{10, 29}

The examined location records do not establish a Decathlon-operated store in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem or Golan Heights. The Talpiot branch’s documented location does not establish that it operated in occupied East Jerusalem.^{10, 29}

Domain Summaries

Military: Military

Mechanism of Involvement

Final score: Military 0.00 - Impact 0.00, Magnitude 0.00, Proximity 0.00.

The military audit examined direct defence procurement, dual-use goods, military logistics, infrastructure projects, defence-manufacturer relationships, weapons systems, export licensing and relevant conduct by identified corporate principals.

Decathlon’s documented Israeli activity concerns sporting-goods retailing and civilian distribution. The franchise transaction involved existing stores, inventory, leases, ecommerce and related infrastructure. No public evidence identified of a defence procurement agreement, military joint venture or Israeli security-force customer associated with that transaction.^{23, 20, 2}

The potentially relevant product category was Decathlon’s Solognac hunting and outdoor-equipment range. An official product listing describes a 20-litre backpack marketed using the word “TACTICAL”, with abrasion-resistant construction and modular attachments. Another describes the Treemetic 500 hunting gilet, with storage pockets, water-resistant materials and shoulder padding. Both products are presented for civilian outdoor or hunting activities.^{11, 32}

These characteristics establish that Decathlon sells outdoor equipment with features that could have general-purpose utility. They do not establish a military specification, defence procurement programme, authorised military reseller or verified Israeli military end-user.

No public evidence identified of:

• Contracts supplying equipment or services to the IDF, Israeli Ministry of Defence, Israel Prison Service or Israel Border Police.
• Products manufactured or modified specifically for Israeli military requirements.
• Components supplied to Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems or other identified Israeli defence manufacturers.
• Military construction, demolition, checkpoint or settlement-infrastructure contracts.
• Military freight, base services, munitions, weapons platforms or purpose-built targeting systems.
• Qualifying military-channel donations, investments or procurement activity by Decathlon’s identified executives or the relevant Israeli franchise principal.

The audit also identified no military-specific Decathlon supply relationship continuing after the July and November 2024 international legal developments.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Decathlon’s strongest defence in this domain is the civilian character of its documented activities. Its products, retail infrastructure and commercial services are consistent with an international sporting-goods business. Hunting equipment and tactical terminology do not establish an Israeli military end-use.^{16, 11, 32}

The 2025 franchise restructuring further limits attribution of day-to-day Israeli operating decisions to Decathlon Group. The franchise relationship preserves commercial involvement, but no identified evidence converts the franchisee’s civilian retail activities into a defence-supply arrangement.^{2, 3}

Public procurement information and corporate disclosures cannot exclude every undisclosed commercial transaction. Nevertheless, the audit did not identify the qualifying evidence required for a nonzero military score.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Digital: Digital

Mechanism of Involvement

Final score: Digital 0.00 - Impact 0.00, Magnitude 0.00, Proximity 0.00.

Decathlon maintains a substantial international digital organisation covering ecommerce, cybersecurity, enterprise software, data engineering, infrastructure and robotics. Decathlon Digital identifies approximately 5,000 digital specialists and describes its formation in 2020.³⁴

The audit examined whether these capabilities established a qualifying relationship with Israeli surveillance, intelligence, military technology or state digital infrastructure.

Decathlon’s use of radio-frequency identification technology was a principal area of review. The company reports that all its products have carried RFID tags since 2019 and that approximately 50,000 readers were deployed globally by 2024. Corporate and GS1 documentation describes merchandise identification, inventory tracking, supply-chain traceability, checkout efficiency and product security.^{12, 13}

These are documented commercial retail applications. No public evidence identified establishing their deployment for Israeli population surveillance, military intelligence, policing or defence operations.

The digital audit also examined enterprise software suppliers, cloud systems, biometrics, artificial intelligence, sovereign-cloud programmes, technology acquisitions and Israeli research relationships.

No public evidence identified of:

• Confirmed procurement or deployment of an identified Israeli-origin cybersecurity or surveillance product specifically for Decathlon.
• Facial-recognition or biometric customer-tracking technology supplied by an identified Israeli provider.
• Participation in Project Nimbus or another Israeli government sovereign-cloud programme.
• Direct or indirect software, analytics, cloud or cybersecurity contracts with Israeli military or intelligence institutions.
• Decathlon-developed military targeting AI, offensive cyber capabilities or autonomous weapons systems.
• An Israeli-owned Decathlon digital research centre or software engineering office.
• An Israeli-origin military-technology acquisition or qualifying surveillance-company investment.
• A verified transfer of Decathlon customer data from outside Israel to an Israeli surveillance or intelligence institution.

The Israeli franchise’s ecommerce presence establishes civilian digital commerce. It does not establish a qualifying digital-security or intelligence relationship.^{2, 25}

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Decathlon’s strongest defence is that its documented digital systems serve retail and internal enterprise operations. The reviewed RFID disclosures explain specific commercial functions, while Decathlon Digital’s published office information identifies technology workplaces in Amsterdam, Lille and Paris without documenting an Israeli engineering office.^{34, 12, 13, 35}

The Israeli ecommerce platform’s precise cloud-hosting region, data-controller arrangements, payment integrations and subprocessors were not established by the reviewed evidence. Those gaps cannot be converted into claims of Israeli surveillance involvement.

Likewise, a technology supplier’s national origin, corporate history or other customers do not establish that Decathlon procured its products or participated in those customers’ activities.

The digital domain therefore has no mechanically eligible governing evidence frame.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Economic: Economic

Mechanism of Involvement

Final score: Economic 7.00 - Impact 7.00, Magnitude 7.00, Proximity 8.00.

Economic activity is the dossier’s principal substantiated vector.

Decathlon entered Israel in August 2017 through a directly managed retail operation. Over the following years, it developed physical stores, ecommerce and domestic distribution capabilities. The Caesarea logistics centre was established in 2022, and the announced Ashdod expansion in July 2024 demonstrated continued investment in the Israeli retail market.^{1, 21, 22}

The restructuring announced in 2025 changed the commercial ownership structure. May reporting described an anticipated transaction involving eleven stores, inventory and associated leases, with an estimated value of approximately NIS 100 million. This figure was a proposed transaction valuation, not verified annual revenue, a confirmed final sale consideration or evidence of annual tax contributions.²³

September reporting identified Union Group as the proposed acquirer, while subsequent December reporting described the acquisition and franchise transition as completed. The Israeli website terms identify Union Sport Ltd as the local operating company.^{20, 2, 24, 3}

This arrangement is the governing economic evidence frame.

The V6.5 examiner adjudication retained the documented activity of Union Sport Ltd as a qualifying exclusive commercial partner. Under the methodology’s attribution principle, an eligible franchise partner’s documented economic operations can be assessed, while the degree of directness is reflected in Proximity.

Union Sport Ltd’s Israeli incorporation and domestic operations establish the relevant Israeli economic nexus. The relationship with Decathlon Group is established through the franchise and branded retail arrangement.^{2, 3, 15}

Documented economic activities include:

• A national network of Decathlon-branded sporting-goods stores.¹⁰
• An Israeli online retail operation advertising sporting equipment, clothing and accessories.²⁵
• A Caesarea logistics facility supporting domestic deliveries and collection services.⁴
• Approximately 500 employees reported by the Israeli recruitment website.²¹
• An advertised business-to-business sporting-goods service for institutional customers.²⁵
• Local retail prices displayed in Israeli shekels, with VAT included.²⁵

These activities document commercial sales, employment, distribution and domestic market participation. The reviewed evidence does not quantify the Israeli operation’s total economic contribution.

Civilian philanthropic relationships

The Decathlon Foundation’s Israeli activities provide additional, separately documented relationships.

On 22 December 2025, Blinker reported that Foundation support enabled three Bo’atot girls’ football groups in Tel Aviv, Bat Yam and Ashdod. The programme served girls from asylum-seeker and migrant-worker families. Decathlon Israel’s reported chief executive, Yael Kalron, attended the inaugural tournament.⁵

On 3 August 2026, News08 reported a partnership between the Decathlon Foundation and Eitan – Everybody Can, supporting the establishment of an inclusive sports-training group in Beersheba for people with disabilities.⁶

The Foundation’s published criteria describe support for nonprofit sporting projects involving Decathlon employees and vulnerable populations. Eligible expenditure may include equipment, facilities, training and certain operating costs.⁷

The two Israeli initiatives are documented civilian social-inclusion programmes. No public evidence identified that they supported Israeli military units, settlement organisations or occupation-related security infrastructure.

The sources do not quantify the Foundation’s contributions, establish complete grant agreements or identify the precise funding vehicle. The August 2026 report does not independently establish whether money had already been disbursed. These uncertainties prevent calculation of a specific financial contribution.

Settlement-related economic activity

The economic audit examined manufacturing origins, agricultural sourcing, distribution, occupied-territory delivery, settlement-based stores and settlement-specific commercial contracts.

No public evidence identified of products verified as originating from Israeli settlements, direct Decathlon agricultural procurement from identified Israeli exporters, settlement-specific investment assets or a current store established inside an Israeli settlement.

Decathlon’s manufacturing disclosure describes a global supplier network and does not list Israel among the specifically enumerated countries hosting its production offices or company-owned manufacturing sites.³⁶

The Israeli delivery policy describes domestic delivery but does not establish a settlement-by-settlement geographic boundary. Consequently, the reviewed evidence neither confirms nor excludes delivery to a particular settlement address.⁴

No public evidence identified of a verified Decathlon or Union Sport Ltd customer order delivered to an occupied-territory settlement.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

The company’s strongest economic defence is the 2025 transfer of its directly operated Israeli business to a locally controlled franchise structure.

Decathlon Group no longer has the same documented direct operating role it exercised when entering Israel in 2017. Contemporary reporting establishes the transfer of the operating business to Union Group, while the Israeli website identifies Union Sport Ltd as the local operator.^{1, 2, 24, 3}

The precise extent of continuing Decathlon Group ownership, if any, remains unresolved. No public evidence identified establishing a retained controlling shareholding, a specific royalty percentage, annual franchise income or other quantified payments to the French group.

This significantly limits claims about Decathlon Group’s direct current financial exposure.

The documented Foundation programmes also have expressly civilian and socially inclusive purposes. They should not be characterised as military support merely because their beneficiaries or implementing partners are located in Israel.^{5, 6, 7}

The absence of verified settlement operations, settlement-origin products, defence-sector customers and Israeli government financing further limits the scope of the economic finding.

Nevertheless, the continuing licensed franchise relationship establishes a documented commercial connection between Decathlon Group and the Israeli retail network. The fixed V6.5 adjudication recognises that relationship while incorporating its indirectness into the Proximity criterion.

The resulting scores are:

Impact - 7.00: High, lower-end band. The qualifying activity is sustained Israeli domestic retail and distribution through an eligible branded franchise relationship.

Magnitude - 7.00: Moderate, mid-band. The documented network includes multiple stores, ecommerce, logistics and reported employment, while Israel-specific revenue and economic contribution remain unquantified.

Proximity - 8.00: Moderate, upper-end band. Union Sport Ltd is the identified Israeli operating entity within a continuing Decathlon franchise arrangement. Direct corporate ownership and detailed franchise-control rights remain unresolved.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Political: Political

Mechanism of Involvement

Final score: Political 0.00 - Impact 2.50, Magnitude 0.00, Proximity 0.00.

The political audit identified limited evidence relevant to Decathlon’s comparative public conduct, together with documented civil-society criticism of its Israeli commercial presence.

Comparative humanitarian response

In March 2022, Decathlon publicly described its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company reported assistance for 125 Ukrainian employees, donations of equipment and essential products valued at €2.6 million, and a €1 million solidarity fund. It also announced the suspension of Russian store operations, citing an inability to maintain supply conditions.⁸

Decathlon Germany separately reported distributing more than 12,500 products through humanitarian organisations assisting people affected by the war.⁹

The political audit did not identify an equivalent public Decathlon Group programme specifically addressing Palestinian civilian harm.

The fixed V6.5 examiner adjudication determined that this comparative record, considered alongside established Israeli economic integration, satisfied the methodology’s Double Standard / Selective Silence Impact-floor criterion.

Impact was therefore fixed at 2.50.

This is a narrow comparative finding. The evidence establishes Decathlon’s documented Ukraine response and the absence of a comparable Palestine-specific response within the reviewed record. It does not establish the company’s internal decision-making, intentions or the absence of all private assistance.

October 2023 crisis communication

Following the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war, Decathlon Israel published a customer-facing notice warning that deliveries might be delayed because of the security situation.

Reuters contemporaneously reproduced the notice, which also expressed hope for quieter days. The communication concerned operational disruption and did not endorse Israeli military action, announce political support or describe military assistance.³⁰

The original Hebrew banner was not independently recovered from an accessible primary-source archive. Its documented content therefore rests on the contemporaneous Reuters reproduction.

Civil-society and employee criticism

Decathlon has been the subject of Palestine-related campaigning, although the documented campaigns require careful attribution.

In January and September 2021, AFPS activists demonstrated outside Decathlon stores in France over the sale of Puma products. Their objection concerned Puma’s sponsorship of the Israel Football Association and the association’s relationship with football clubs based in Israeli settlements.^{26, 27}

The campaigns established direct engagement with Decathlon as a retailer. They did not establish that Decathlon itself sponsored the Israel Football Association.

On 31 May 2024, reporting documented a CGT Decathlon Île-de-France communiqué calling for strike action on 1 June and demanding that Decathlon disengage from Israel. The communiqué also called for participation in a pro-Palestinian demonstration.²⁸

The underlying reporting establishes an announced union action and associated political demands. It does not independently confirm participation numbers, operational disruption, subsequent management correspondence or a resulting corporate policy change.

The reviewed December 2024 BDS Movement priority-targeting guide and official campaigns directory did not identify Decathlon as a named priority target in the examined material. This does not erase the separately documented local demonstrations or union criticism.^{38, 39}

Political advocacy and institutional influence

No public evidence identified of:

• An official Decathlon statement endorsing Israeli military operations or settlement expansion.
• Corporate political donations to identified Israeli military-welfare, settlement-advocacy or geopolitical lobbying organisations.
• Lobbying concerning settlement recognition, Israeli regional policy or restrictions on BDS activity.
• Executive appointments to qualifying Israeli geopolitical advocacy organisations.
• Corporate sponsorship of Israeli settlement events or government public-diplomacy campaigns.
• Suppression of Palestine-related employee speech or political content through company policy.
• Discretionary military-reservist benefits specifically associated with the Gaza conflict.
• Direct financing, logistical support or equipment donations to Israeli military units.

The audited record therefore supports no qualifying affirmative political act establishing nonzero Magnitude and Proximity.

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Decathlon’s strongest defence is that its documented public conduct does not demonstrate affirmative political alignment with Israel.

Its October 2023 Israeli customer notice addressed delivery disruption and expressed a general hope for calmer conditions. Its published corporate mission concerns sporting participation and commercial activity.^{16, 30}

The Ukraine comparison also has material limitations. Decathlon’s Russian-store suspension was publicly linked to supply disruption and sanctions-related conditions, and the company’s humanitarian assistance concerned an independently documented emergency. The existence of one public humanitarian programme does not establish a general corporate obligation to publish an equivalent programme for every conflict.^{8, 40}

No public evidence identified of an equivalent Palestine-specific programme in the reviewed sources, but that documentary absence cannot establish Decathlon’s private intentions or exclude undisclosed charitable activity.

The Puma-related criticism concerned a commercial sponsorship attributable to Puma. Decathlon’s involvement was as a retailer whose merchandise was challenged by campaigners.^{26, 27}

The 2024 union strike call documents internal political opposition to Decathlon’s Israeli commercial presence, but does not establish a company-wide political endorsement or verified suppression of dissent.²⁸

Accordingly, the examiner retained Impact 2.50 solely under the comparative-response criterion. Magnitude and Proximity remain 0.00, producing a political domain score of 0.00 under the V6.5 formula.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Counter-Arguments

The documentary record supports several substantial arguments limiting Decathlon’s responsibility under the Complicity Index framework.

1. The Israeli business was transferred to a local franchise operator.

Decathlon’s historical direct investment is established, but the 2025 restructuring transferred its Israeli operating business to Union Group. Union Sport Ltd is the identified local operator. The evidence does not establish a continuing controlling equity interest held by Decathlon Group or quantify its franchise revenues. Current corporate responsibility must therefore reflect the documented franchise relationship and the limits of direct ownership.^{2, 24, 3}

2. The documented commercial activity is civilian sporting-goods retail.

The Israeli network sells sporting equipment and operates conventional retail, ecommerce and distribution services. No public evidence identified of a qualifying IDF supply contract, defence-manufacturer integration or military logistics operation. The Solognac products examined were marketed for civilian hunting and outdoor activities.^{25, 4, 11, 32}

3. Settlement-specific allegations did not withstand verification.

The official store directory did not establish a settlement outlet, and the Jerusalem Talpiot location did not establish an occupied East Jerusalem operation. No verified settlement-origin product, settlement-specific investment or settlement delivery was identified. The delivery-policy evidence also does not permit a categorical conclusion that all settlement deliveries are excluded.^{10, 4, 29}

4. The digital infrastructure has documented commercial uses.

Decathlon’s RFID, cloud and analytics infrastructure supports retail and enterprise operations. The audits did not establish its use for Israeli military intelligence, population surveillance, sovereign-cloud contracts or targeting systems.^{34, 12, 13}

5. Corporate humanitarian activity cannot automatically be interpreted as political support.

The Foundation-supported Israeli programmes serve girls from migrant and asylum-seeker families and people with disabilities. Their stated purposes concern sporting inclusion. No evidence established military or settlement beneficiaries, and the reported funding commitments were not quantified.^{5, 6, 7}

6. Comparative silence is weaker evidence than affirmative political conduct.

Decathlon’s documented Ukraine response and the absence of an equivalent publicly identified Palestine-specific programme support the examiner’s limited Impact-floor assessment. They do not establish an intention to support Israeli state policy, and no affirmative qualifying political act was established.^{8, 9}

These limitations are reflected in the final adjudicated scores. The dossier’s substantive finding concerns documented participation in the Israeli economy through a continuing branded franchise relationship. The military, digital and affirmative political allegations examined did not establish additional qualifying domain scores.

Complicity Index Score

Method: Complicity Index V6.5
Status: Complete - human-vetted and examiner-adjudicated
Research cut-off: 22 October 2026

• V_MAX: 7.00 Avg_OTHERS: 0.00
• BRS Score: 583 Tier: C (Substantial Complicity)

Calculation

The V6.5 domain calculation is:

V = I × min(M/7, 1) × min(P/7, 1)

The aggregate calculation is:

BRS = ((V_MAX + 0.2 × Avg_OTHERS) / 12) × 1000

For Decathlon:

V-ECON = 7.00 × min(7.00/7, 1) × min(8.00/7, 1) = 7.00

BRS = ((7.00 + 0.2 × 0.00) / 12) × 1000 = 583.33 → 583

Interpretation

The economic domain supplies the entire effective score. Its governing evidence is Union Sport Ltd’s documented Israeli retail operation within Decathlon’s continuing franchise relationship, assessed under V6.5’s qualifying-commercial-partner rule. The economic Impact, Magnitude and Proximity bands were fixed at 7.00, 7.00 and 8.00 following examiner adjudication.

The political domain retains an Impact value of 2.50 for the documented comparative humanitarian-response finding. Because its Magnitude and Proximity values are zero, it contributes nothing to the final BRS. Military and digital scores are also zero because no qualifying governing evidence frames were established.

The resulting 583/1000 falls within Tier C (400–599), Substantial Complicity.

Complicity Index V6.5 is a scale-free, evidence-only assessment: Impact describes the qualifying activity type, Magnitude its scale and Proximity the assessed entity’s directness of involvement. The final classification reflects the prescribed scoring method and human-vetted evidence boundaries; it does not establish legal liability or independently prove conduct outside the documented economic relationship.

Methodology Note

• Evidence provenance: This dossier is compiled exclusively from the four supplied Decathlon forensic audits: Military, Digital, Economic and Political, researched to 22 October 2026. Source citations reproduce URLs from those audits’ End Notes. The supplied audits, rather than a new independent retrieval exercise, constitute the evidentiary record for this dossier.

• Scale-free scoring: V6.5 evaluates Impact as the nature of a qualifying activity, Magnitude as its documented scale and Proximity as the directness of the assessed entity’s involvement. A large multinational’s general size cannot independently establish complicity. The final human-vetted scores are fixed and have not been recalibrated.

• Temporal attribution: Historical direct operations, subsequent divestments, franchise transfers and discontinued activities must be distinguished. Exited or transferred operations mitigate claims of ongoing direct control. Decathlon’s pre-2025 direct Israeli operations and its subsequent franchise relationship are therefore treated as different operating structures.

• Entity attribution: Conduct is assigned to the entity actually documented as responsible. Relationships with franchisees, suppliers, shareholders, family-associated businesses or other retailers do not create automatic transitive responsibility. Puma’s historical football sponsorship, for example, cannot be attributed to Decathlon merely because an individual Decathlon store sold Puma merchandise.

• Settlement-related allocation: A verified qualifying settlement operation may be assessed in both Economic and Political under the methodology’s territorial-activity rules. In this case, the audits did not establish a qualifying Decathlon settlement operation, so no settlement-related political or economic finding has been added.

• Negative evidence and uncertainty: The phrase “No public evidence identified” denotes that the relevant audit checks did not establish a qualifying claim. It is not proof that an undisclosed activity is impossible. Unverified shipment records, unresolved corporate ownership details, undetermined franchise payments, unknown delivery boundaries, announced but unverified strike participation and unquantified Foundation commitments have not been converted into established facts.