Fifa will carry out a legal assessment before it makes a decision on whether to agree to Palestine’s call to suspend the Israeli federation over the war in Gaza.
At Fifa’s congress in Bangkok on Friday, the Palestinian federation called for a vote to exclude Israel, which was supported in the room by the Jordanian FA.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino said it was a decision for the Fifa Council, following a legal assessment.
The Council is expected to convene for an extraordinary congress in late July to address the issue.
According to BBC News, PFA president Jibril Rajoub said “How much more must the Palestine football family suffer for Fifa to act with the same severity and urgency as it did in other cases? Does Fifa consider some wars to be more important than others and some victims to be more significant? I ask you to stand on the right side of history. The suffering of millions, including thousands of footballers, deserves as much. If not now, then when? Mr President, the ball is in your court.”
Meanwhile, Shino Moshe Zuares, the president of the Israel Football Association, said: “We are facing a cynical political and hostile attempt by the Palestinian association to harm Israeli football. Seven months after the terrible day, when football matches cannot be played in large parts of Israel, north and south, and over 130 Israelis are still being held in Gaza, it is injustice that even in these circumstances we find ourselves fighting for our basic right to be part of the game.”
Responses