October 6 – The Palestine Football Association (PFA), which has lost pretty much every political battle with its Israeli neighbours in the football politics arena, have nevertheless ‘welcomed’ the FIFA Council’s decision to refer their case to FIFA’s Ethics bodies.
Having called for Israel’s suspension from international football at the FIFA Congress in May in Bangkok, the motion was prevented from going to a vote, instead being referred for an independent legal review.
After several delays the report was eventually presented to FIFA Council members who followed the report recommendations to now refer the case to FIFA’s disciplinary committee to investigate the alleged offence of discrimination.
At the same time 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.”
“We welcome the FIFA Council’s decision to refer this case to the competent judicial bodies, viewing it as a positive step into the right direction, based on procedural and appropriate measures, towards addressing grave violations of FIFA’s statutory objectives, human rights, and the rights of its member associations,” said the Palestine FA statement.
“We are confident in the legitimacy of our demands and trust in the judicial process to deliver a just resolution within a designated time frame. Our commitment to upholding FIFA’s statutes, our obligations and the rights of all fellow member associations remains unwavering.”
With the war on Hamas in the Gaza strip unrelenting and Israel stepping up activity against Palestinians in the West Bank, the sad reality is that the military activity will only generate more stories of abuse, death and destruction. For football is will only mean more dismantling of infrastructure, loss of life and suspension of Palestinian football activity in a territory that Israel is not at war with.
The PFA said that it will continue provide “providing evidence and documentation based on fact and law regarding violations by the Israeli Football Association (IFA) under FIFA statutes, human rights and Swiss law.”
The PFA has governing body jurisdiction over the West Bank and East Jerusalem as well as the so-called territory of Area C where the Israeli illegal settlements are located and where football clubs have been formed and are playing in the Israeli leagues.
FIFA’s rule on this is clear in that it states: “Member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter’s approval.”
It is likely the PFA will have a constant stream of information flowing to the FIFA Ethics investigators evidencing exactly this.
While the PFA did not achieve the first objective its FIFA Congress motion to have Israel suspended, it does now have the formal investigation by FIFA’s formal bodies that it requested.
It also has the eyes of the world on the outcome. It is a serious test of FIFA’s Ethics process that has become privately viewed with suspicion and distrust by the bulk of FIFA’s member associations.
Under president Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s Ethics process has frequently been accused of becoming a weaponised tool. Having initially been comprised of independently recruited officials, Infantino changed the rules at his first Congress as president in Mexico in 2015 to a situation where FIFA chooses its own Ethics investigators and judges, rather than their selection being made by an independent panel.
Soon followed accusations that Ethics only followed through on the cases that the executive wanted to further their own agenda. It has been well documented in Insideworldfootball and other media of the threat of Ethics investigations and bans being used to blackmail football leaders who weren’t following the official FIFA executive line on certain decisions and in major votes.
Palestine themselves have lost multiple times before the FIFA Ethics judiciary with complaints over both Israel’s interference with their football and FIFA’s failure to allow their complaints a fair and transparent hearing.
This time the world expects the judiciary to conduct an honest and fair process.
“We are dedicated to the development of football in Palestine and ensuring that all athletes are treated with dignity and respect. We look forward to a just outcome that aligns with FIFA’s values and brings renewed hope to Palestinian athletes and our sports community,” said the PFA statement.
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