FIFA’s failure to hold Israel accountable for its ongoing violations of Palestinian sports rights reflects the broader issue of international inaction towards the occupation.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, is the international self-regulatory governing body of football. As an entity, it possesses the absolute authority to make decisions and take positions independently of many of the countries that support and back the state of Israel. Its positions, however, are the same as those of the hypocritical West, which applies double standards to the Palestinian cause and the Gaza genocidal war.
A Palestinian Football Association proposal was submitted to the FIFA Congress last May. It called for Israel to be held accountable for violations of Palestinian sports rights and to be expelled from FIFA for its actions.
As a result of this proposal, FIFA has rejected the Palestinian Football Association’s request for an immediate vote on the topic of expelling Israel, on the grounds that an independent legal assessment of the Palestinian Football Association’s proposal would have to take place, and that the FIFA Council will review that assessment in July 2024.
There have been several instances when the FIFA Council meeting has been postponed until October 3, 2024.
In relation to the proposal submitted by the Palestinian Football Association regarding the Israel Football Association’s expulsion from FIFA at the 74th FIFA Congress, the FIFA Council adopted the following recommendations and conclusions reached in the independent legal analyses mandated by FIFA:
- The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will be mandated to initiate an investigation into the alleged offense of discrimination raised by the Palestinian Football Association.
• The FIFA Governance, Audit, and Compliance Committee will be entrusted with the mission to investigate—and subsequently advise the FIFA Council on—the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine.
“The FIFA Council has implemented due diligence on this very sensitive matter and, based on a thorough assessment, we have followed the advice of the independent experts,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“The ongoing violence in the region confirms that, above all considerations, and as stated at the 75th FIFA Congress, we need peace. As we remain extremely shocked by what is happening, and our thoughts are with those who are suffering, we urge all parties to restore peace to the region with immediate effect.”
Despite the fact that hundreds of violations have been committed against Palestinians and their sports, it is evident that the International Football Federation FIFA does not believe there is an occupation in Palestine or racial discrimination against Palestinians and their sports. Therefore, FIFA describes the Palestinian Federation’s lawsuit as an ‘alleged’ offense of discrimination.
It should be noted that the term “alleged” refers to a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong, usually without any evidence that this has been the case. In addition, it refers to Israeli football teams’ participation that is ‘allegedly’ based in the Palestinian territories, as if it was not certain or not sure whether these clubs are located in the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories or not.
Several questions can be raised in regard to Infantino’s statement. Violence in Palestine is primarily caused by the brutal practices of the occupation, which are at the core of most of the violence that occurs there. It is well-known and self-evident that violence does not lead to occupation; rather, it is the occupation that generates violence and is one of the primary causes of violence in the first place.
Over 410 martyrs from the sports and scouting movements have been killed since the war began last October. The Palestinian Football Federation indicated in August 2024 that 297 child and youth footballers have been killed since October 7, 2023.
According to the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports in Gaza, material losses relating to sports have reached twenty million dollars or more as a result of the destruction of stadiums and various sports facilities. Airstrikes, artillery shelling, and the ground invasion of the Gaza Strip have destroyed an estimated fifty clubs completely.
As FIFA is shocked at what’s happening, it reminds us of the Biden administration’s support for Israeli weapons. Additionally, this administration expressed concern about the situation in Gaza, especially the mass killing of civilians there. It called on Israel to open crossings and send more aid to those affected by the Israeli bombing.
As the highest football governing body, FIFA is no different from the European Union. There is one thing they both have in common: they shed tears in support of Israel and remain silent about its crimes and genocide in Gaza, Palestine.
In spite of its concern about Palestinian suffering, FIFA remains silent and neutral. Ultimately, this unbiased position, which “sympathizes” with those who suffer, serves the occupation’s interests. It’s a clear and indisputable fact that anyone who stands neutral in the fight between oppressors and the oppressed supports oppressors. It appears that FIFA refuses to acknowledge or take into account the context surrounding the events on October 7.
The historian Ilan Pappe emphasized the importance of contextualizing the October 8, 2023, events during his remarks.
Instead of FIFA calling on Israel to stop its abusive practices and end its occupation of Palestinian territories, we see it instead “urging” all parties to restore peace to the region. Essentially, this means that it compares the victim with the executioner, and that is not a thing that is new to the West.
We are reminded of the same approach the West took decades ago in favor of colonizers regarding the Palestinian issue as we observe Infantino’s ambiguous approach to the conflict today. As a simple matter of fact, it essentially denies the rights of the Palestinian people who are the victims of Israeli occupation. Moreover, it equalizes them with their oppressors.
In conclusion, we don’t expect anything from FIFA’s procrastination. We can only expect negative decisions that violate FIFA’s basic principles under “legal” pretexts that serve Israel’s interests and reaffirm the double standard policy of the West.
– Issam Khalidi is an independent scholar, is the author of History of Sports in Palestine 1900-1948 (in Arabic), One Hundred Years of Football in Palestine (in Arabic and English), co-edited Soccer in the Middle East, as well as articles and essays on the subject of sports included at
