October 3 – World governing body FIFA has once again kicked the Palestinian issue into the long grass after the organisation’s president Gianni Infantino called football “a vehicle for peace” at the latest FIFA Council.
On Thursday, the FIFA Council, the organisation’s top decision-making body, holding its penultimate meeting of the year, failed to address either a potential ban on Israel from the international game or the issue of settlement clubs in the West Bank, first raised by the Palestinian FA (PFA) in 2013.
Instead, Infantino and his Council offered a message of peace. Infantino said: “At FIFA, we are committed to using the power of football to bring people together in a divided world. Our thoughts are with those who are suffering in the many conflicts that exist around the world today, and the most important message that football can convey right now is one of peace and unity.”
“FIFA cannot solve geopolitical problems, but it can and must promote football around the world by harnessing its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values.”
After the meeting, Infantino posed for a photo with PFA president Jibril Rajoub (pictured left). Reducing the occasion to another photo op, he wrote on Instagram: “I commend President Rajoub and the PFA for their resilience at this time and I reiterated to him FIFA’s commitment to using the power of football to bring people together in a divided world.”
It’s understood the PFA were dismayed about how they were sidelined in Zurich on Thursday. They are fighting on two fronts: pressing FIFA to act against Israeli settlement clubs in the West Bank and seeking that UEFA suspend Israel from the international game.
UK media previously reported that UEFA would call an emergency meeting to vote on suspending Israel but that vote was never confirmed. “UEFA said they’re going to pause a vote (and) wait for the peace plan,” said Victor Montagliani, a FIFA vice president and Concacaf president, at Leaders in London.
“But, first and foremost, (the Israel FA) is a member of UEFA and, no different than if I have to deal with a member in my region for whatever reason, it’s a decision by UEFA. (Israel) is their member, they have to deal with it and I respect not only their process but whatever decision they make.”
The PFA has repeatedly sought to suspend Israel, including at last year’s FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand. FIFA president Gianni Infantino ordered an “independent legal analysis” of Palestine’s complaint, which was passed to the disciplinary and governance committees last October.
European governing body UEFA has faced mounting public pressure to move against Israel. Earlier this month, a United Nations report accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, allegations Israel denies.
For over a decade, the PFA has demanded that FIFA act against Israeli settlement clubs in the West Bank. Article 64.2 of the FIFA Statutes states that “Member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter’s approval.” At the last FIFA Congress, in Luque, Paraguay, FIFA argued that it needed more legal advice about settlement clubs in the West Bank.
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