FIFA has postponed a decision on a proposal to suspend the Israeli soccer team from international football due to the ongoing war with Hamas, pending a “legal evaluation”.
The proposal came from the Palestinian Football Association, which opposes the war. Israel launched its attack on Hamas following the October 7 terrorist attack that left hundreds dead. FIFA is expected to make a decision on the proposal within two months.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks at the FIFA Congress on Friday, May 17, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photo/Satchai Lalit)
“Due to the obvious sensitivity of these issues, FIFA is currently engaging independent legal experts to analyze and evaluate the three requests from the Palestinian Football Association to ensure that FIFA’s laws and regulations are being implemented in the correct manner in Palestine. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “This legal evaluation will need to take into account the opinions and arguments of both member associations. The results and recommendations will be forwarded to…the FIFA Council.
“Due to the urgency of the situation, an extraordinary FIFA Council has been convened and will meet by July 20 to consider the results of the legal assessment and take appropriate decisions.”
The Palestinian Football Association called for “appropriate sanctions against the Israeli team with immediate effect.” The proposal claimed that Israel had violated international law and that “all football infrastructure in Gaza, including the historic stadium in Al-Yarmouk, has been destroyed or seriously damaged.”
Djibril Rajoub, president of the Palestinian Football Association, speaks at the FIFA conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Satchai Lalit)
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“The Palestinian people, including the Palestinian football family, are enduring an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” the association’s president Djibril Rajoub said on Friday. He claimed that 193 football players died as a result of the war.
Infantino said Friday’s vote was not possible because the FIFA Executive Board needed to act.
“I don’t want to divide the 211 member countries,” he said. “As president, I have a responsibility to apply FIFA’s statutes and its rules, whatever my personal beliefs on these and other terrible issues around the world.”
He said at Wednesday’s FIFA executive board meeting that the 37 member nations unanimously agreed to condemn the violence that occurred.
Israeli fans in the stadium wrote on a banner: “Bring them home now.” (Hendrik Schmidt/Photo Alliance via Getty Images)
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“The FIFA Council also reiterated that football cannot and must never be held hostage to politics and will always remain a force for good, uniting people rather than dividing them.” he stated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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