Fifa defers decision on request to suspend Israel

ZURICH – World football’s governing body Fifa on Oct 3 gave no verdict either way on a Palestinian request to suspend Israel, but instead launched an investigation into allegations of discrimination.

At Fifa’s congress in Bangkok in May, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) called for its Israeli counterpart to be suspended and for Israeli teams to be banned from Fifa competitions.

The PFA claims that the Israel Football Association (IFA) has broken Fifa discrimination rules.

The accusation came seven months into Israel’s war with Hamas in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Fifa was initially set to hold an extraordinary session of its ruling council before July 20 to review independent legal analysis and decide how to proceed.

However, the deadline was pushed back to give the legal experts more time to complete a report.

At the organisation’s headquarters in Zurich on Oct 3, the Fifa Council adopted the recommendations and conclusions reached in the legal analysis.

It decided that its disciplinary committee would be mandated to investigate the alleged offence of discrimination raised by the PFA.

Meanwhile 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 the territory of Palestine”.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said in a statement: “The Fifa Council has implemented due diligence on this very sensitive matter and, based on a thorough assessment, we have followed the advice of the independent experts.

“The ongoing violence in the region confirms that, above all considerations... we need peace.

“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.”

In Bangkok, PFA head Jibril Rajoub had claimed that the Israeli FA had broken Fifa rules, adding: “Fifa cannot afford to remain indifferent to these violations.”

He called for the “immediate” suspension of Israel from Fifa.

His Israeli counterpart Shino Moshe Zuares rejected the call as “cynical, political and hostile”, insisting that the IFA had not broken any Fifa rules.

Reacting to the Oct 3 announcement of the postponement of a Fifa decision, the president of the Palestinian federation said: “What is important is that the investigation was unanimously approved by all of the Fifa Council.

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

A group of United Nations experts on Oct 3 said that at least eight football clubs had developed or had been identified as playing in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, another Palestinian territory, with a ninth playing some home games in a settlement.

The experts said that the activity of those teams amounted to IFA tacitly contributing to “the unlawful presence of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory”.

“This is in stark violation of international law,” they said, while calling on the Fifa Council “to ensure that its decisions are in conformity with non-derogable norms of international law”.

They also urged Fifa to ensure implementation of its zero-tolerance policy against discriminatory conduct and racism. AFP