Turkish Football Federation president repeatedly rejects meeting Israeli counterpart

Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu said Tuesday that he repeatedly refused to meet the head of the Israeli Football Association due to Gaza genocide.

“We have a very important friendship with Spain as a country, in sports, and in politics. When I see the Spanish Football Federation president (Rafael Louzan) from afar, I go and hug him. They are also very sensitive about the Palestinian issue. If Israel had participated in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Spain would have said, ‘We will not participate,’” Haciosmanoglu told Anadolu.

“The President of the Israeli Football Association (Moshe Zuares) repeatedly wanted to meet with me. I did not meet with him, and I will not. Where we need to react, we follow the lead of our President. Just as we support the oppressed, we stand with everyone who suffers from the oppression of the oppressor. They kicked Russia out of all organizations in a week. We see the world’s attitude towards these cruel people who eliminate people regardless of religion, language, race, sect, children, women, the elderly, schools, mosques, or churches. If everyone has an account to settle, Allah, God also has an account to settle,” he said.

Haciosmanoglu sent a letter to FIFA, UEFA and the heads of national football federations last September calling for Israel to be banned from international sporting events.

Israel’s military offensive continues into the second year of genocide in Gaza. More than 72,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and over 172,000 injured since October 2023.