VIEW: Human rights attorneys argue that Israel should be....

Following an impartial legal review by human rights and international law specialists, FIFA’s rules on Israel’s war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip must be violated, and Israel must be barred from any football-related activities.

According to Reuters, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) proposed to suspend Israel in May. FIFA responded by ordering an immediate legal assessment and said it will discuss the matter at an extraordinary council meeting in July. FIFA could not afford to turn a blind eye to “violations or to the ongoing genocide in Palestine,” according to PFA President Jibril Al-Rajoub. Action against Israel has the support of the Asian Football Confederation as wel

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Middle East, Israel, FIFA, International Organizations, andNEWS…Human rights attorneys argue that Israel should be suspended for breaking FIFA regulations.

July 18, 2024 at 10:40 a.m. 3 Comments

President of the Palestine Football Association Jibril Rajoub speaks on May 17, 2024, during the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok.

There had been a suggestion from the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) to suspend Israel.

The Palestinian proposal accuses the Israel Football Association (IFA) of complicity in violations of international law by the Israeli government and discrimination against Arab players. The IFA rejected the allegations.

Eko said that its petition calling on FIFA, the International Olympic Committee and sporting federations to ban Israel from international sport had received over 380,000 signatures.

In recent years, whenever the PFA proposed motions to suspend Israel, FIFA did not impose sanctions, declaring in 2017 that the matter was closed and not subject to further discussion until the legal or de facto framework changed. The new analysis argues that developments since last October have given rise to “a new legal framework that necessitates FIFA’s intervention”.

Al-Rajoub had cited precedents at the FIFA Congress and the analysis said the suspension of Israel would be in line with FIFA’s past decisions to suspend or expel member associations that violate its objectives. The Football Association of South Africa, for example, was suspended in 1961 due to the country’s apartheid policy while Yugoslavia was banned in 1992 following UN sanctions amid the Serb-dominated government’s aggression in the Balkans.

Most recently, in 2022, both FIFA and its European counterpart UEFA acted swiftly to suspend Russian teams from their competitions following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Critics have accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians, which Israel denies. Israel characterises its actions as self-defence to prevent another attack like the one on 7 October, although the ICJ ordered Israel in January to take action in order to prevent acts of genocide.

Reuters has contacted FIFA for comment.