Football’s world governing body FIFA said it would seek legal advice to decide on a proposal to suspend Israel from international matches.
President of the Fédération internationale de football association (International Federation of Association Football, or FIFA) Gianni Infantino announced the plan at its annual congress in Bangkok, Thailand. He made the announcement on Friday after the Palestine Football Association (PFA) presented arguments accusing the Israel Football Association (IFA) of violating FIFA statutes.
The PFA alleged that Israel had included teams based in the Palestinian territory in its domestic league. The PFA President Jibril Rajoub addressed delegates from 211 member associations.
I ask you to stand on the right side of history … If not now, when? FIFA cannot afford to remain indifferent to these violations or the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
Infantino stated that FIFA “will mandate as of now, independent legal expertise to analyse the three requests [from the PFA] and ensure the statutes of FIFA are applied in the right way.” The organisation also scheduled an extraordinary board meeting for July 25.
The motion by the Palestine Football Association noted “international law violations committed by the Israeli occupation in Palestine, particularly in Gaza” and cited FIFA’s statutory obligations on human rights and anti-discrimination.
Palestine wrote that “all the football infrastructure in Gaza has been either destroyed or seriously damaged, including the historic stadium of al-Yarmouk.” The PFA also claimed to have received support for the proposal from the federations of Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Yemen.
The Palestinian people, including the Palestinian football family, are enduring an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs has made serious threats to imprison me if I do not withdraw this proposal, but no power in the world can stand in the way of truth.
Israel’s response
Despite Palestinian arguments, Israel called the ban “cynical.” The IFA President Shino Moshe Zuares stated that Israel had not violated any rules. The proposal had nothing to do with football, he added.
Once again, we are facing a cynical political and hostile attempt by the PFA to harm Israel. I am holding myself back … in the hope things can be better for the game for those who play in Israel, the Palestinian Authority and or those who play all over the world.
Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation, also expressed support for the Palestinian proposal ahead of the congress.
Spain denied port of call to ship with weapons to Israel
Spain refused to allow a ship carrying weapons to Israel to enter a Spanish port, its foreign minister José Manuel Albares declared.
This is the first time we have done this because it is the first time we have detected a ship carrying a shipment of arms to Israel that wants to call at a Spanish port.
Albares made the announcement to journalists in Brussels on Thursday, according to The Guardian.
This will be a consistent policy with any ship carrying arms to Israel that wants to call at Spanish ports. The foreign ministry will systematically reject such stopovers for one obvious reason: West Asia does not need more weapons, it needs more peace.
The minister did not provide details of the vessel, but transport minister, Óscar Puente, stated that it was the Marianne Danica that requested permission to enter the southeastern port of Cartagena on May 21.
According to El PaÃs, the Danish-flagged vessel was carrying 27 tonnes of explosive material from Chennai in India to the port of Haifa in Israel. Spain reportedly stopped selling arms to Israel after the latter had launched a military offensive in Gaza.
