Asia presses FIFA for urgent solution to Israeli-Palestinian dispute

ZURICH (Reuters) - Asian football's governing body (AFC) has called on FIFA to urgently solve a long-running dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.

Asia presses FIFA for urgent solution to Israeli-Palestinian dispute

(Reuters)





AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said that a deadline for ending the matter had been repeatedly put off and that Palestinians merely wanted to see "football played on their land".

The dispute centres on six teams from lower divisions of the Israeli league who are based in settlements on the occupied West Bank and play their matches there.

The Palestine Football Association (PFA) says this is contrary to FIFA statutes which state that a member country's teams cannot play matches on the territory of another association without permission.

Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

The PFA has also complained that Israel hampers its activities, including limiting the movement of players between the West Bank and Gaza, and that it has barred some international travel.

Israel has cited security concerns for its actions and the Israeli FA, which is a member of European soccer body UEFA, says it is not responsible for the actions of its government.

The AFC said in a statement that its executive committee had "backed a recommendation to insist FIFA seek an urgent resolution to the ongoing Palestine issues with Israel".

It called on FIFA to apply "the relevant FIFA statutes as soon as possible".

“Palestine is a Member Association of the AFC and all they want is to see football played on their land," said Sheikh Salman.

"We would like to see a definite deadline set, as in the past the deadline has been extended again and again. We all feel strongly that this issue should be resolved.’

The PFA called on the FIFA Congress two years ago to suspend Israel but was persuaded to drop the motion at the last minute.





(Writing by Brian Homewood)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world