FIFA mulls giving Israel 6 months to stop soccer games in settlements

FIFA's committee on the Israeli-Palestinian issue has recommended that the federation give the Israel Football Association six months to stop games in the settlements before deciding whether to suspend Israel or any of its teams, Haaretz reported on Sunday.

The panel recommended that FIFA take the decision during its annual congress in Bahrain on May 10-11. According to a draft report, the panel recommended that should Israel fail to comply, FIFA would then decide whether to suspend the country or the teams that play in the settlements from the federation.

The Palestinians have been trying since 2015 to pressure FIFA into taking action against Israel over teams that play in the settlements. FIFA’s bylaws bar any country from setting up teams in another country’s territory, or letting such teams play in its own leagues without the other country’s consent. The Palestinians want this clause used against the settlement teams and argue that if Israel doesn’t suspend them from its leagues, Israel itself should be suspended from FIFA.

The six teams in question are located in Ma’aleh Adumim, Ariel, Kiryat Arba, Givat Ze’ev, Oranit and the Jordan Valley. 

In late March, a meeting took place in Zurich between Tokyo Sexwale, head of the FIFA committee, and the heads of the Israeli and Palestinian soccer associations, Ofer Eini and Jibril Rajoub. At this meeting, Sexwale presented his committee’s draft report on the issue.

Source: MENA