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BDS: FIFA shielding 'Israel' from ban until after Olympics

By Mohammad Al-Jaber
Source: BDS movement
20 Jul 2024 15:04
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The BDS movement condemns FIFA's reluctance to impose a ban on the Israeli occupation as it commits an all-out genocide in Gaza.

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino walks on the stage before the start of the 69th FIFA Congress in Paris, June 5, 2019. (AP)

FIFA, the global football governing body, has decided to postpone the vote on banning the Israeli occupation from international football until after the Olympics, drawing widespread condemnation.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and various human rights organizations, accused FIFA of shielding the Israeli occupation from accountability for its crimes in Gaza.

The BDS movement issued a statement condemning FIFA's decision, highlighting the ongoing violence in Gaza where the Israeli occupation has intensified its military operations.

According to the statement, in recent days, the Israeli occupation has killed several young footballers, including Sayyed Yousef Odeh (16), Yazan Al-Sarsawi (11), and Shadi Abu Al-Arraj (36).

The BDS movement also reported that the Israeli occupation forces bombed a UN school in Gaza on July 9, killing at least 30 Palestinians, including children playing football.

The statement details the devastating impact of the conflict on Palestinian sports, with at least 240 Palestinian footballers, including 67 minors, killed at the hands of the Israeli occupation. Additionally, 15 have been injured and 12 imprisoned.

The Israeli occupation has also targeted and damaged 49 Palestinian sports facilities, using some stadiums as detention and torture centers.

FIFA's decision has been met with widespread criticism, with many calling for immediate action to ban the occupying regime from international football.

AFC backs ban

The Asian Football Confederation, a FIFA organization, has called for the occupation to be banned, and petitions demanding this action have garnered over 500,000 signatures.

Earlier in May, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the president of the AFC, expressed his support for the Palestine Football Association's initiative ahead of FIFA's congress on Friday. The motion aims to impose immediate and appropriate sanctions on Israeli teams.

"The AFC is only as strong as its members and when one suffers, all its other members are affected," he told delegates.

The BDS movement, supported by various UN officials, footballers, and nearly 200 members of parliament, argues that FIFA's continued inaction contributes to a climate of "total impunity" for the party perpetrating genocide.

The statement asserted that international sporting bodies must be pressured to hold the Israeli occupation accountable, drawing parallels to the international isolation of apartheid South Africa.

The movement called for peaceful disruptions of all Israeli participation in regional and international sports, urging people of conscience to act where governments and institutions have failed.