Football reps. walk out of FIFA meeting in support of Palestine
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Representatives from several countries leave a FIFA meeting in Thailand’s Bangkok during the statements of the Israeli representative.
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President of the Iranian Football Federation Mehdi Taj speaks at Milad Tower in Tehran, on November 8, 2022. (AFP)
In support of Palestinians amid "Israel’s" continuous war on Gaza, the president of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) walked out of an annual congress meeting of the world’s football governing body, FIFA.
Mehdi Taj and his team departed the meeting in Thailand’s Bangkok as they called for "Israel" to be suspended from all football activities, adding that they walked out during the statements of the representative of the Israelis.
Taj noted that other representatives, including from Iraq and Lebanon, also walked out in protest.
He said, “Yesterday, I told the presidents of the Algerian and Palestinian federations that if the representative of the Zionist regime wants to speak, we should leave the meeting in protest… As soon as the representative of the Zionist regime entered and when he wanted to provide explanations, my colleagues and I left the hall. The representative of Iraq and the representatives of Lebanon, Mozambique, and Algeria also left right after us”.
“We left the congress hall because we do not recognize the Zionist regime. My belief is that the Zionist regime should be banned from all football activities and this should include its representatives in all levels of football at the club, national and managerial levels,” he added.
“We, on the right side of history, do not forget millions of oppressed people [in Palestine].”
'A televised genocide'
The Palestinian Football Association's President Jibril Rajoub highlighted during the meeting how "Israel" committed “systematic” violations of FIFA statutes and breached international law in Gaza.
“The Palestinian people, including the Palestinian football family, are enduring an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” Rajoub said, adding: “We are witnessing a live televised genocide happening in Gaza.”
“The Israeli minister of foreign affairs has made serious threats to imprison me if I do not withdraw this proposal, but no power in the world can stand in the way of truth,” he added.
Read next: AFC backs Palestine's bid to suspend 'Israel' from FIFA over Gaza war
This comes days after FIFA's president announced that the organization will take independent legal advice on a call by the Palestine Football Association to suspend the "Israel" Football Association over the war on Gaza.
FIFA documents showed that "all the football infrastructure in Gaza has been either destroyed, or seriously damaged, including the historic stadium of Al-Yarmuk."
"FIFA cannot afford to remain indifferent to these violations or the ongoing genocide in Palestine," Rajoub told FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Bangkok.
"I ask you to stand on the right side of history... If not now, when?," he said, adding, "The ball is in your court."
