The Palestinian Football Association has demanded Israel’s immediate suspension from FIFA, the international football regulatory body.
During the 74th Congress in Bangkok, the association’s president, Jibril Rajoub, mounted the stage to urge that Israel be immediately suspended from international football.
“How much more must the Palestine football family suffer for FIFA to act with the same severity and urgency as it did in other cases?” Rajoub requested and added:
“Does FIFA consider some wars to be more important than others and some victims to be more significant?”
“I beg that you stand on the right side of history. Millions, including hundreds of football players, deserve it. If not now, when?
“Mr. President, the ball is in your court,” he said.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that the Palestinian Football Federation’s complaints will be investigated legally as soon as possible.
“FIFA will mandate, as of now, independent legal expertise to assess the three requests made by the Palestinian Football Association and make sure that the status and regulations of FIFA are applied in the correct way,” Infantino stated.
Infantino stated that FIFA would have an extraordinary council session by July 20 to study the legal findings and decide on the next steps.
“Due to the urgency of the situation, an extraordinary FIFA Council will be convened and take place before July 20 of this year to review the results of the assessment and take the appropriate decisions,” he stated.
Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed over 1,200 people, Israel began a military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Over 200 people were seized as hostages.
Since last October, approximately 35,300 Palestinians have been murdered, the great majority of whom were women and children, and over 79,200 have been wounded as a result of a Hamas strike.