Chairman of Palestinian Football Association says Israel should be expelled for failing to abide by FIFA conventions.
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHIsraeli soccer team in Russia(photo credit: Adi Avishai)
The Palestinian Authority will ask the Federation Internationale de Football Association to expel Israel from the organization for failing to abide by its conventions, Jibril Rajoub, chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, announced Wednesday.Rajoub, a senior Fatah official and former Palestinian Authority security commander, said that the Palestinians won’t accept any compromises or half solutions to solve the problems facing Palestinian athletes and sports.“We will demand the expulsion of Israel from FIFA and the International Olympics Committee,” Rajoub told reporters in Ramallah.He said that the Palestinian demand for the expulsion of Israel would be presented to FIFA during the organization’s next conference in June.Rajoub also called for international recognition of the Palestinian Football Association as a national Palestinian organization.He said he would seek the backing of Arab ministers of youths during their upcoming meeting on March 14 for the demand to expel Israel from FIFA.He said that Iran, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Algiers and Tunisia have already pledged to back the Palestinian demand.Rajoub claimed that Israel does not want the Palestinians to have their own national sports entity and seeks to break the Palestinians’ athletic will.
