Palestine urges FIFA to suspend Israel over war on Gaza
The Palestine Football Association (PFA) has urged the soccer's world governing body FIFA to suspend Israel over the regime’s genocide in the Gaza Strip.
During FIFA’s annual congress in Thailand on Friday, Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub noted that Israel had committed multiple “systematic” violations of FIFA statutes.
He urged the Congress to take a vote to suspend the Israel Football Association (IFA) from all football activity and to respect the Palestinian territory.
"I ask you to stand on the right side of history and vote now. The suffering of millions, including thousands of footballers, deserve as much. If not now, then when? Mr. President, the ball is in your power, in your court," he said.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the body will seek a piece of legal advice before making a decision on the Palestinian proposal during the extraordinary Congress of the FIFA Council in late July.
"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, ensure that the statutes and regulations of FIFA are applied in the correct way."
Rajoub urged FIFA to consider data "depicting the immense devastation currently taking place in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, that has destroyed or severely damaged every football infrastructure, including two facilities in the West Bank.”
“Football stadiums were used as concentration camps to detain and humiliate thousands of Palestinians who were paraded almost naked on the world TV screens," he said.
Since the start of the war on Gaza in early October, Israel has killed at least 35,303 Palestinians and injured 79,261 more.
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