FIFA delays vote on Israeli settlement clubs

FIFA will rule on the issue of Israeli clubs playing in the West Bank by October, president Gianni Infantino says Thursday, once again delaying a decision on the contentious issue.

FIFA’s annual Congress votes to back — by a majority of 73 to 27 percent – a proposal that pushed football’s governing body to report by March 2018, but Infantino said feedback would come before then.

“We will take responsibility and we will take a decision on this matter,” he says, adding FIFA would rule in October.

The Palestine Football Association (PFA) argues that the presence of six Israeli clubs on its territory is in breach of FIFA statutes, which forbids another member association playing on another territory without permission.

Israel argues that FIFA rules are unenforceable as there is no permanent border.

— AFP

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