The Palestinian Football Association says “political pressure” was behind a decision of the international football body FIFA to delay a vote on banning Israeli clubs based in West Bank settlements.
“We are disappointed that FIFA has decided to allow political pressure to win over the FIFA statutes,” it says in a statement.
FIFA will rule on the issue of Israeli clubs playing in the West Bank by October, president Gianni Infantino said Thursday, once again delaying a decision on the issue, in what Israel hailed as a diplomatic victory.
FIFA’s annual Congress voted to back — by a majority of 73 to 27 percent — a proposal that pushed soccer’s governing body to report by March 2018, but Infantino said feedback would come before then.
“We fear Mr. Infantino’s action of today has set a precedent where governments decide the agenda for a FIFA congress, and violations of the statutes and misuse of its legal devices become so common in a way that encourages those who allow football to be used as a tool to normalize oppression,” the statement adds.
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, May 11, 2017
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