Israel’s men’s national soccer team will be competing for Olympic glory despite an Arab attempt to block them from the games.
Back in May, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) submitted a proposal to FIFA urging the league to ban Israel. Backed by the Asian Football Confederation, PFA claimed that the Jewish state had violated the FIFA’s statutes related to human rights by committing “genocide” in Gaza.
Join the JBN+ WhatsApp GroupInitially, FIFA had promised to address the matter and share insights from its independent legal assessment by Saturday, just days before the start of the Olympic soccer tournament. However, in a surprising move, FIFA announced that more time was needed to investigate and set a new deadline of Aug. 31 for any decision.
In response, PFA blasted the lack of clarity surrounding the investigation.
“FIFA’s letter did not indicate the mechanism by which the independent legal opinion will be dealt with by the Council. The Palestinian Football Association has previously requested clarifications from FIFA regarding this matter multiple times.”
Paris will play host to the Olympic soccer tournament scheduled to take place from July 26 to Aug. 11. Israel’s team will have to defeat formidable opponents Mali, Paraguay, and Japan during the group stage, in order to enter the knockout round.
There is no such place as Palestine
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