Israeli football facing Palestinian calls for action by FIFA at annual congress

Palestinian football cites the example of Russian teams being banned from international competitions by FIFA and UEFA during the military invasion of Ukraine that started in February 2022.

The football dispute between the Palestinians and Israelis was put on the FIFA agenda repeatedly from 2013-17, including at congresses, without making significant progress. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Calls for action against Israel in international football because of the conflict with Hamas will be stepped up by Palestinian officials at the annual FIFA congress next month.

The Palestine Football Association proposal to 211 member federations in Thailand calls for “appropriate sanctions, with immediate effect, against Israeli teams,” according to FIFA documents released late Wednesday, one month before the May 17 meeting.

The motion notes “international law violations committed by the Israeli occupation in Palestine, particularly in Gaza” and cites FIFA’s statutory commitments on human rights and against discrimination.

“All the football infrastructure in Gaza has been either destroyed or seriously damaged, including the historic stadium of Al-Yarmuk,” the Palestine FA wrote, claiming support for the congress motion from the federations of Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Yemen.

The latest call to punish Israeli football will not be supported by FIFA and is unlikely to make progress because Israel can expect global backing including from the 55-member European football body UEFA it joined 30 years ago. A cooperation deal also was signed last week between Israeli officials and the South American football body CONMEBOL.

Palestinian football cites the example of Russian teams being banned from international competitions by FIFA and UEFA during the military invasion of Ukraine that started in February 2022.

Russia’s exclusion was supported by FIFA because several UEFA members refused to play games against Russian opponents. They included all three men’s national teams – Poland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic – who were in a qualifying playoffs bracket in March 2022 for the men’s World Cup that year. Russia did not play and Poland advanced to the tournament in Qatar.

Russian officials continue to take part in international football meetings, including the executive committee of UEFA and should have a delegation with FIFA in Bangkok next month.

Israeli national and club teams have continued to play in UEFA competitions since the October 7 attacks by Hamas, though home games were played in neutral Hungary and Cyprus for security reasons.

At the Paris Olympics opening in July, Israel will play in the men’s football tournament and took part in the tournament draw last month. Israel was drawn into a group to play Mali, which is a Muslim-majority nation, Paraguay and an Asian team yet to be decided.

The Palestine FA said in its proposal to FIFA: “There is a good chance that some football associations will refuse to play against Israel.” Last year, Indonesia was stripped by FIFA of hosting the men’s Under-20 World Cup because it refused to host games for Israel which qualified several months earlier. The tournament moved to Argentina and Israel reached the semifinals. Within weeks, FIFA compensated Indonesia with hosting rights for the men’s Under-17 World Cup played late last year.

The football dispute between the Palestinians and Israelis was put on the FIFA agenda repeatedly from 2013-17, including at congresses, without making significant progress.

Palestinian football leader Jibril Rajoub urged FIFA at the congress in 2015 and 2017 to sanction Israel for incorporating into its national leagues teams that played games on disputed territory in the West Bank.

The latest proposal again cites Israel’s “violation of the FIFA Statutes manifest in its continued inclusion of football teams located on the territory of another association (Palestine) in its national league.” FIFA under President Gianni Infantino and his predecessor Sepp Blatter has not held Israeli soccer responsible for actions by the national government, including a security policy that has limited travel for Palestinian players.