Palestinian football officials call for Israeli ban from FIFA

ISTANBUL

The Palestinian Football Association called for the immediate suspension of Israel from the world governing body for football, FIFA.

During the 74th Congress in Bangkok, the association's President Jibril Rajoub took the stage in to demand Israel's immediate suspension 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 demanded, adding:

"Does FIFA consider some wars to be more important than others and some victims to be more significant?"

"I ask you to stand on the right side of history. The suffering of millions, including thousands of footballers, deserves as much. If not now, then when?

"Mr. President, the ball is in your court," he stated.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said a legal assessment of the Palestinian Football Federation's allegations would be urgently undertaken.

"FIFA will mandate as of now an 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 said.

Infantino said FIFA will hold an extraordinary council session by July 20 to review the legal findings and decide on the subsequent actions.

"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 added.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack which left nearly 1,200 people dead. More than 200 were taken as hostages.

More than 35,300 Palestinians have since been killed, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and over 79,200 others injured since last October following an attack by Hamas.