Soccer Body Delays Vote On Israel’s West Bank Settlement Teams
Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub addresses the FIFA Congress. Image by FIFA TV
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The FIFA Congress voted to accept the proposal of the governing body of international soccer’s council and not hold a vote on a Palestinian proposal questioning the status of Israeli teams in the West Bank.
The vote passed Thursday with the approval of 73 percent of the member FIFA nations. It comes after the council of FIFA on Tuesday decided that it would be “premature” to make a decision on the status of Israeli teams that play in the West Bank.
Votes on similar resolutions have been delayed for the last three years.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino says that the FIFA Council will make a decision on the issue by March 2018.
The FIFA Congress began its annual two-day meeting on Wednesday in Manama, Bahrain.
The six West Bank teams, which play in lower level leagues, are located in Maale Adumim, Ariel, Kiryat Arba, Givat Zeev, Oranit and the Jordan Valley.
The Palestinians say this violates FIFA’s rules, which state that “Member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter’s approval.” They have called for sanctions against the Israeli league and its removal from FIFA altogether.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
