By Andrew Warshaw
May 20 – Sepp Blatter remains optimistic, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that he can find a solution to the Palestinian bid to ban Israel from world football that threatens to overshadow his re-election bid at next week’s FIFA Congress in Zurich.
The FIFA president said on Tuesday he was on a “mission of peace” as he met Netanyahu in a final piece of pre-congress shuttle diplomacy.
Blatter is believed to have proposed holding a peace match in Zurich between the Israeli and Palestinian national teams, an idea the president of the Israeli federation, Ofer Eini, apparently immediately accepted according to local reports.
Blatter certainly needs a quick compromise before the Congress and emerged from the meeting in Jerusalem insisting an agreement was within reach as he heads on to Ramallah to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Palestine Football Association chief Jibril Rajoub who has tabled a Congress proposal to suspend Israel.
“I have obtained a message which I will present to the Palestinian Football Association and Palestinian politicians as part of my mission. I remain confident that we will find a solution for the benefit of football development ahead of the FIFA Congress,” Blatter said.
“Football is nowadays such a strong organisation that we should go into a peace situation and not into a fighting situation, and football shall connect and not divide people.
“I’m very happy about what Prime Minister Netanyahu has said. Yes, football is stronger than all the problems there could be. I’m sure we will find a solution.”
Whether that will appease Palestinian concerns about Israel’s behaviour in the region, limiting movement of Palestinian players, visiting teams and equipment, is highly questionable. On the eve of meeting with Blatter, Rajoub made it clear no concessions would be made by his side.
“We will never, ever accept any compromise, any agreement or deal outside the Congress,” said Rajoub, who has headed the PFA since 2008.
Israel has cited security concerns as the reason behind the restrictions particularly in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Hamas. Rotem Kemer, the Israeli FA’s chief executive, insists progress is being made and that Israel has approved more than 95% of the Palestinian requests this year for players to move between Gaza and the West Bank and to travel abroad.
In a conference call to foreign journalists, he accused the PFA of holding Israel to ransom.
“I don’t think there is any football association around the world which can tell its government how to deal with security issues, including the Israeli Football Association,” he said.
Time is certainly running out and while Netanyahu praised Blatter for opposing the politicisation of sport he stopped well short of agreeing a lasting solution.
“Sport is a vehicle of goodwill among nations. The thing that could destroy the Football Association is politicising it. You politicise it once with Israel, then you politicise it for everyone, and it will cause the deterioration of a great institution,” Netanyahu said.
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