According to FIFA documents unveiled a month prior to the congress and council gatherings in Bangkok, the Palestine Football Association’s proposal to the 211 member federations requested “appropriate sanctions, with immediate effect, against Israeli teams.”
FIFA is set to seek external legal counsel before convening an extraordinary council session by July 25 to deliberate on the Palestinian initiative aimed at suspending Israel from international football due to alleged human rights violations in Palestine.
At the FIFA congress on Friday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented the plan following statements from representatives of the Palestinian and Israeli football federations before the 211 member associations.
Infantino stated, “FIFA will now commission independent legal expertise to examine the three requests from the Palestinian FA and ensure FIFA’s statutes are correctly applied.”
He added, “This legal evaluation will consider input from both member associations. The findings and recommendations will be presented to the FIFA council.”
“In light of the urgency, an extraordinary FIFA Council meeting will be convened and held before July 25 to review the legal assessment results and determine appropriate actions.”
The proposal from the Palestine Football Association highlighted “international law violations by the Israeli occupation in Palestine, particularly in Gaza,” and referenced FIFA’s statutory obligations concerning human rights and anti-discrimination.
The Palestinian Football Association stated that “all football infrastructure in Gaza has been either destroyed or severely damaged, including the historic Al Yarmuk stadium.” They also indicated support for the motion from the federations of Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Yemen.
