FIFA president Sepp Blatter and delegates at the FIFA Congress called on the Israeli government on Wednesday to fully commit to FIFA’s plans to ease restrictions on movement for Palestinian footballers. “I call on the Israeli government to facilitate this movement and I go so far as to say its co-operation is crucial,” Blatter told…
Israel, looking to avoid censure at the FIFA Congress in Brazil on Wednesday, has defended its arrest of a Palestine national team player, telling the world soccer body he was a courier for Islamist militants. Sameh Fares Mohammad had intended to “harm the state of Israel and its citizens”, Israeli Sports Minister Limor Livnat wrote…
You will not hear “Hatikva” at the World Cup that opens on June 12 in Brazil. The last and only time Israel participated in the tournament was 1970. Yet even countries not famous for their soccer prowess, such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Honduras, get to play on this enormous stage. Israel, which has a proud professional…
The vote for the hosting of the 2022 World Cup must be re-run if corruption allegations surrounding Qatar’s winning campaign are proved to be accurate, Lord Goldsmith, a member of FIFA’s Independent Governance Committee, said on Monday. A British newspaper on Sunday claimed it had evidence that around $5 million was paid to officials in…
Miguel Layun struck twice for Mexico who began their World Cup preparations with a 3-0 win over Israel at the Azteca stadium on Wednesday but also suffered a scare with goalkeeper Jesus Corona taken to hospital with a head injury. Corona collided with team-mate Francisco Rodriguez in the 69th minute and lay flat out before…
Malcolm Glazer, a reclusive self-made billionaire and patriarch of the family that owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Manchester United soccer club, died on Wednesday, the teams said. He was 85. Glazer, who as a teenager sold watch parts from a suitcase before building a wide-ranging business empire, bought the Buccaneers in 1995…
(JTA) — Blue-and-white soccer fans may not be able to rally behind the Israeli team with bold colors and flags at this year’s World Cup, but their country won’t be underrepresented in Brazil. According to the most recent data from FIFA, Israel (11,222) ranks behind Canada (28,542) for the largest number of tickets purchased by…
The Palestinians will urge delegates at next month’s FIFA Congress to take sanctions against Israel while it continues to act “like the neighborhood bully”, FA president Jibril Rajoub told Reuters on Tuesday. Rajoub, speaking at the Soccerex Asian Forum being held on the banks of the Dead Sea, said the relationship between the two Middle…
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