FIFA agreed today to seek legal advice on Palestine’s proposal to suspend Israel from international soccer.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino outlined the plan to 211 member federations after Palestinian and Israeli football officials spoke at the governing body’s annual congress in Bangkok.
“Now, due to the obvious sensitivity of these matters, Fifa will mandate as of now independent legal expertise to analyse and assess the three requests made by the Palestinian Football Association and ensure that the statutes and regulations of Fifa are applied in the correct way in order to ensure a fair and due process,” Infantino said.
“Due to the urgency of the situation, an extraordinary Fifa Council will be convened and will take place before July 20 to review the results of the legal assessment and to take the decisions that are appropriate.”
The Palestinian soccer federation has now spoken at a Fifa Congress at least five times since 2014 without making the progress it wants.
Palestinian footballers have raised ongoing issues over the last decade, calling out Israel over its travel restrictions on Palestinian players, the presence of Israeli teams in the West Bank, as well as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In the past 10 years, Fifa under two different presidents has deferred a vote or decision, or created a working group to report back at a later meeting.
The Palestine Football Association called for “appropriate sanctions, with immediate effect, against Israeli teams.”
Its motion noted “international law violations committed by the Israeli occupation in Palestine, particularly in Gaza” and cited Fifa statutory commitments on human rights and against discrimination.
The Palestinian FA wrote that “all the football infrastructure in Gaza has been either destroyed, or seriously damaged, including the historic stadium of al-Yarmuk.”
Today at the congress, Palestinian soccer’s leader Jibril Rajoub said “the Palestinian people, including the Palestinian football family, are enduring an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”
He said 193 footballers were among the thousands of Palestinians to die in the ongoing war.
Rajoub, who said he had been threatened because of his sanctions proposal, urged Fifa delegates not to delay the vote.
“The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs has made serious threats to imprison me if I do not withdraw this proposal, but no power in the world can stand in the way of truth,” Rajoub said.
