Palestinian football body appeals FIFA ruling on Israel at top sports court

Lead

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against FIFA's decision not to sanction Israel over clubs based in West Bank settlements, according to a senior PFA official. The appeal was filed on April 20, as reported by the same official to Reuters, and comes ahead of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, where visa issues have affected several delegations.

Coverage Comparison

The appeal was reported by multiple outlets, including Al Jazeera and the Jerusalem Post. While the core facts are consistent across reports, Al Jazeera's coverage included additional context on the situation for Palestinian football, describing it as "dire" in Gaza, where "every football structure is either unusable or destroyed." The Jerusalem Post focused primarily on the procedural aspects of the appeal and the visa issues. A separate Al Jazeera report detailed a heated exchange at the FIFA Congress between Palestinian and Israeli representatives, which was not covered in the other source material examined.

Key Claims

• The PFA has appealed to CAS against FIFA's decision not to sanction Israel over clubs in West Bank settlements. This was reported by both Al Jazeera and the Jerusalem Post, and the appeal date of April 20 was confirmed by PFA Vice President Susan Shalabi to Reuters.
• Visa issues are affecting Palestinian and other delegations to the FIFA Congress. Shalabi said some PFA representatives, including the president, general secretary, and legal counsel, were unable to enter Canada for the event. This was reported by both Al Jazeera and the Jerusalem Post.
• FIFA decided last month to take no action against the Israel Football Association (IFA) or Israeli clubs, citing the unresolved legal status of the West Bank under public international law. This was reported by multiple sources.
• The PFA has long argued that clubs based in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank should not compete in leagues run by the IFA. This was reported by both Al Jazeera and the Jerusalem Post.

Perspectives

The PFA's position was articulated by Vice President Susan Shalabi, who said, "Since we have exhausted every legal venue possible at FIFA, we'll still go by the rules, go by the book, and we'll appeal that decision because we think it's very unjust." She added that the FIFA council "decided after 15 years of deliberations on this issue not to decide," leaving the PFA with no option but to appeal to CAS.

At the FIFA Congress, a tense moment occurred when PFA President Jibril Rajoub refused to stand alongside Israel FA Vice-President Basim Sheikh Suliman. According to Shalabi, Rajoub said, "I cannot shake the hand of someone the Israelis have brought to whitewash their fascism and genocide." Israel has denied committing genocide in Gaza.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino attempted to have the two men shake hands, but Rajoub declined. Infantino later said, "We will work together, President Rajoub, Vice President Suliman. Let's work together to give hope to the children. These are complex matters."

Shalabi criticized Infantino's attempt, saying it showed little consideration for Rajoub's speech, in which he again called for Israeli clubs not to base teams in West Bank settlements. She told Reuters, "To be put in a position where to have a handshake after everything that was said, this negates the whole purpose of the speech."

CAS has not yet announced the appeal and was not available for comment outside business hours. FIFA was also not immediately available for comment. Reuters has contacted the IFA for comment.