The international soccer organization FIFA announced Wednesday that it would be taking disciplinary steps against Jibril Rajoub, the chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, for threatening the star striker of the Argentinian soccer team, Lionel Messi.
Rajoub had urged fans to burn pictures and shirts of Messi if he played against Israel in Jerusalem in a friendly soccer game that was canceled. Pro-Palestinian protesters had also demonstrated outside practices of the Argentinian team in Spain.
Sports and Culture Minister Miri Regev called Rajoub a terrorist and said she felt vindicated by the decision. She had been saying since the cancellation that it was due to the threats against Messi, while her political opponents charged that it was because she moved the game from Haifa to Jerusalem.
“Rajoub has made the soccer playing field into a battlefield,” Regev told the Knesset plenum after holding up a poster of Palestinian threats against Messi. “The Argentinians wanted the game to be in Jerusalem and FIFA wanted it to be in Jerusalem, so those who said it was canceled because of Jerusalem and not terror threats must apologize.”
After being heckled by opposition MKs, who still blamed her for the game’s cancellation, Regev went on the offensive against them.
“Bloodthirsty journalists who don’t care about the truth and opposition MKs who are disconnected from reality tried to hang me in the town square,” she charged.
This is not the first time Israel was targeted by the Palestinian FA nor was it the first time Rajoub was vocal about the Israel Football Association. Last week, The Israel Football Association planed to file a formal complaint with FIFA over the cancellation of a friendly match between Israel-Argentina, which the latter association was using as a World Cup warmup.
FIFA’s World Congress rejected on Wednesday the Palestinian Football Association’s call to amend its constitution with language that seemingly targets Israel.
In a vote of of 156 against to 35 in favor, or 82% opposed, FIFA’S congress voted decidedly against the PFA proposal, which would add a clause to Article 3 of its constitution. The amendment called for repercussions against countries with a “Failure to recognize, respect, protect, guarantee and defend human rights in accordance to international standards as well as any violation of them is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion.”
FIFA rejects the proposal of the Palestinian Federation to amend Article III of the Federal Law on the Defence of human rights. #FIFACongress #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/8j2dMS4Ltd
— Palestine (@ALQadiPAL) June 13, 2018
“The ritual repeats itself every time, when Rajoub tries to lead to decisions in FIFA against our football and the State of Israel,” Israel Football Association Chairman Ofer Eini said in a statement posted on the association’s website. “Thanks to the right and informed work, we are able to explain to friends and friends in FIFA what really lies behind the seemingly innocent proposals of those who crossed every red line. We have true friends in UEFA, the other confederations and in Fifa, and Rajoub has failed time after time. Israeli football will continue to be part of the international community and the State of Israel will continue to enjoy great sympathy in the World Football Association.”
Article 3, According to FIFA, states their stance “against racism and non-discrimination – discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or group of people on account of ethnic origin, gender, language, religion, politics or any other reason is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion.”
Israel FA has filed a complaint to FIFA only against the Palestinian FA and the president of the PFA, Jibril Rajoub. @Argentina
— ISRAEL FA (@ISRAELFA) June 7, 2018
The match was marred by controversy when Rajoub called on fans to burn pictures of Lionel Messi and replicas of his shirt if he played in Israel last week.
The organization said in a Facebook post on June 7, it was disheartened by the cancellation and was looking to take steps against Rajoub.
“The Association views with severity the physical and brutal threats that crossed every red line made by Palestinian Football Association chair Jibril Rajoub,” the IFA said. “The chair will send a letter today to FIFA President Gianni Infantino demanding punishment for those who want to harm soccer players and those who torpedoed a friendly match between the two teams.”
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/One-killed-three-injured-in-clashes-in-Gaza-Strip-533489
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