The head of the Palestine Football Association came under fire for withdrawing a request to suspend Israel from FIFA, the international soccer body. Jibril Rajoub said prior to Friday’s proposed vote that Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany convinced him to withdraw the request. In place of the vote, the FIFA Congress called for the formation…
Former South African cabinet minister and African National Congress (ANC) leader Tokyo Sexwale figured prominently in Friday’s political drama at international soccer’s FIFA conference in Zurich. Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub explicitly mentioned Sexwale as having played a critical role in his decision to withdraw the motion to have Israel expelled. And FIFA President Sepp…
Rotem Kamer, chief executive of the Israel Football Association, told Israel’s Walla news website on Thursday that Israeli representatives were lobbying several soccer confederations, including UEFA, in Zurich hotels before an expected ballot on the issue at FIFA Congress on Friday. “Undoubtedly there is a lot of politics going on here, and unfortunately Israel’s position…
(JTA)— Israelis were expecting some big news to come out of the annual FIFA Congress this week. But they probably weren’t expecting this. In a bombshell operation, a Swiss law enforcement team showed up at the Zurich hotel hosting the annual gathering of the international soccer organization — and arrested nine senior officials. The arrests…
The head of world soccer’s governing body said on Wednesday Israel had proposed easing travel restrictions for Palestinian players but the head of the Palestine FA insisted he would pursue a move to have Israel suspended from FIFA. After meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and soccer officials in the West Bank, FIFA President Sepp Blatter…
On top of land, settlements, resources and borders, Israel and the Palestinians can add another dispute to their long history of conflict – soccer. In 10 days’ time, at the request of the Palestine Football Association, FIFA will hold a vote among its 209 members at a Congress in Geneva on whether Israel should be…
(JTA) — The world soccer federation’s boss, Sepp Blatter, is preparing to travel to Jerusalem and Ramallah in a bid to resolve a dispute over a Palestinian effort to have Israel banned from the association. Blatter, president of the Switzerland-based FIFA, told reporters on Friday that he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…
The head of the Palestinian Football Association reinforced his call for Israel to be suspended from FIFA on Thursday, saying the Israeli Football Association was part of an “apartheid, racist government” that was damaging Palestinian soccer. The PFA accuses Israel of obstructing its activities and restricting the movement of players between the Gaza Strip and…
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