By Andrew Warshaw
October 17 – Palestinian officials and human rights organisations will be disappointed at FIFA’s refusal to take a decisive stand over the issue of Israeli clubs based in occupied territory.
Amidst all the trumpet blowing over Gianni Infantino’s vision for the future and despite the intervention of the United Nations, FIFA’s enlarged ruling Council made no progress over calls to expel the six clubs in question or order them to be relocated them within Israel’s recognised borders.
Last week, Wilfried Lemke, the UN special adviser on sport for development and peace, wrote to FIFA to reiterate that all clubs playing in FIFA-recognised competitions should abide by the relevant regulations.
His missive followed claims by more than 60 European lawmakers that the clubs concerned are in breach of FIFA rules by playing in the Israeli league when the area falls under the Palestinian Football Association.
Both Israel and Palestine have their own national federations and FIFA regulations state that “member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter’s approval.”
Last year a FIFA mediation body headed by South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale was set up to try and resolve the issue when the Palestine Football Association agreed reluctantly to withdraw a motion to have Israel thrown out.
But Sexwale’s initiative has struggled to make inroads and although the item was on the agenda of last week’s FIFA Council meeting and Infantino has described tensions in the region as one of his top priorities, the highly sensitive issue was only touched upon, Sexwale reportedly telling Council members he was unable to deliver a final report because his committee, which includes both Israeli and Palestinian officials, “was not able to meet”.
According to AFP, he said the full report should be ready next month.
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan seized upon the indecision by welcoming the apparent postponement, writing on his Facebook page that “we were successful in blocking another Palestinian attempt to ban Israeli football teams from FIFA.”
Erdan called on FIFA and “all supporters of the ban to leave politics out of soccer!”
Conversely, Human Rights Watch has called on Infantino to set forth “a timeline for deciding whether FIFA will stop sponsoring matches on land that has been illegally seized from Palestinians.”
Meanwhile, PFA chairman Jibril Rjoub (pictured) warned during a press conference in Ramallah that “in the case that FIFA does not make a clear decision to end the suffering of Palestinian sports, namely the organisation of matches in settlements, we will resort to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”
“Israel receives quite a few benefits from FIFA, and some of those benefits also reach the settlements teams, which is unacceptable,” Rajoub said.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1714417200labto1714417200ofdlr1714417200owedi1714417200sni@w1714417200ahsra1714417200w.wer1714417200dna1714417200