05/17/24 04:47:00
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05/17 04:45 CDT FIFA to seek legal advice on Palestinian proposal to suspend
Israel from international soccer
FIFA to seek legal advice on Palestinian proposal to suspend Israel from
international soccer
BANGKOK (AP) --- Facing a Palestinian proposal to suspend Israel from
international soccer because of the conflict with Hamas, FIFA bought time
Friday by agreeing to seek legal advice before holding an extraordinary council
meeting within two months.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino outlined the plan to 211 member federations
after leaders of the Palestinian and Israel soccer bodies spoke at the
governing body's annual congress in Bangkok.
"Now, due to the obvious sensitivity of these matters, FIFA will mandate as of
now independent legal expertise to analyze and assess the three requests made
by the Palestinian Football Association and ensure that the statutes and
regulations of FIFA are applied in the correct way in order to ensure a fair
and due process," Infantino said.
"This legal assessment will have to allow for inputs and claims of both member
associations. The results and the recommendations ... will be forwarded to the
FIFA council.
"Due to the urgency of the situation, an extraordinary FIFA Council will be
convened and will take place before July 20 to review the results of the legal
assessment and to take the decisions that are appropriate."
The Palestinian soccer federation has now spoken at a FIFA Congress at least
five times since 2014 without making the progress it wants.
Palestinian soccer's issues with Israel in that decade have included travel
restrictions on its players, the Israeli league including teams from West Bank
settlements, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In the past 10 years, FIFA under two different presidents has deferred a vote
or decision, or created a working group to report back at a later meeting.
The Palestine Football Association proposal to 211 member federations called
for "appropriate sanctions, with immediate effect, against Israeli teams" and
was forecast in FIFA documents released last month.
The motion noted "international law violations committed by the Israeli
occupation in Palestine, particularly in Gaza" and cited FIFA statutory
commitments on human rights and against discrimination.
The Palestinian FA wrote that "all the football infrastructure in Gaza has been
either destroyed, or seriously damaged, including the historic stadium of
Al-Yarmuk."
On Friday at the congress, Palestinian soccer's leader Jibril Rajoub said "the
Palestinian people, including the Palestinian football family, are enduring an
unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe."
He said 193 footballers were among the thousands of Palestinians to die in the
ongoing war which erupted Oct. 7 with Hamas' deadly attack on Israel.
More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to the
Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and
combatants in its figures. About 80% of Gaza's population have been driven from
their homes.
Rajoub, who said he had been threatened because of his sanctions proposal,
urged FIFA delegates not to delay the vote.
"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," Rajoub said.
But Infantino said the matter couldn't go to a full vote of the membership on
Friday because it had to be dealt with by FIFA's governing council.
"I do not want to divide our 211 member countries," he said. "I have a
responsibility as president to apply the statutes of FIFA and its regulations,
whatever my personal conviction on these and other terrible matters around the
world."
He said at the FIFA council meeting on Wednesday, all 37 members unanimously
agreed to condemn the acts of violence that have taken place and decided to
send a strong message of solidarity.
"The FIFA Council also reiterated that football should not and should never
become a hostage of politics and always remain ... a force of good uniting
people rather than dividing," Infantino said.
The meeting Friday included delegates from Russia, whose national and club
teams have been suspended from international competitions since the invasion of
Ukraine in February 2022.
The legal argument put by FIFA and UEFA was the refusal of other European teams
to play Russians would cause chaos in competitions.
Israel has played in UEFA competitions as a member since 1994 and no European
federation has refused to play its teams.
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