FIFA delays call to sanction Israel

On Thursday, FIFA did not rule on a Palestinian plea to sanction Israel but began an investigation into discrimination.

At FIFA’s congress in Bangkok in May, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) demanded the suspension of its Israeli equivalent and the expulsion of Israeli teams from FIFA events. PFA alleges FIFA discrimination violations by Israel Football Association (IFA).

Seven months into Israel’s Gaza war with Hamas, the claim was made. FIFA was supposed to have an unusual ruling council session before July 20 to review independent legal analysis and decide how to proceed. To provide legal experts more time to write a report, the deadline was extended.

On Thursday, the FIFA Council endorsed the legal analysis’s suggestions and conclusions at its Zurich headquarters. It ordered its disciplinary committee to investigate the PFA’s discrimination claim.

The FIFA governance, audit, and compliance committee “will be entrusted with the mission to investigate — and subsequently advise the FIFA Council on — the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in Palestine.”

Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, said “After a comprehensive study, the FIFA Council adopted the advise of independent experts on this sensitive topic.

“The region’s bloodshed proves we need peace above all else.

“As we remain extremely shocked by what is happening, and our thoughts are with those who are suffering, we urge all parties to restore peace to the region with immediate effect.”

PFA head Jibril Rajoub said in Bangkok that the Israeli FA had infringed FIFA rules, adding: “FIFA cannot afford to remain indifferent to these violations.”

He demanded FIFA’s “immediate” suspension of Israel. His Israeli counterpart Shino Moshe Zuares called the call “cynical, political and hostile” and said the IFA had not infringed any FIFA rules.

“The proposal submitted by the PFA has nothing to do with the IFA and its activity,” he stated, calling it a non-sporting attempt to undermine Israeli football.

The Palestinian Federation’s head told AFP after Thursday’s FIFA decision postponement: “We care that the inquiry was unanimously accepted by the FIFA Council.

“We will continue to follow up on this and we will hold on to our rights.”

Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza for 11 months. An AFP calculation based on Israeli official numbers that includes captives slain in captivity found 1,205 casualties from Hamas’s October 7, 2023 onslaught on Israel, largely civilians.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 41,788, mostly civilians, according to Hamas’ health ministry. UN says data are reliable. Infantino skipped voting on PFA sanctions.

On Thursday, UN experts reported that at least eight football clubs had grown or played in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, another Palestinian region, with a ninth playing occasional home games there. IFA tacitly supported “the unlawful presence of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory,” according to experts.

“This is in stark violation of international law,” stated.

They urged the FIFA Council “to ensure that its decisions are in conformity with non-derogable norms of international law”. FIFA should enforce its zero-tolerance policy against racism and discrimination, they said.

UN special rapporteurs on cultural rights and contemporary racism and members of the working group on human rights and transnational businesses were among the experts. Human Rights Council-mandated UN experts are independent. Therefore, they do not represent the UN.