FIFA fined the Israeli soccer federation for breaching anti-discrimination regulations but took no action on a Palestinian request to suspend Israel from global soccer for allowing clubs based in West Bank settlements.
Also, FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Thursday further dampened Iran’s attempts to move its World Cup matches from the United States to Mexico, saying global soccer’s governing body wants the tournament “to go ahead as scheduled”.
Two separate Palestinian soccer federation petitions were addressed in Thursday’s announcement. FIFA fined the Israel Football Association 150,000 Swiss francs (USD 190,000) on disciplinary charges relating to “discrimination and racist abuse,” plus “offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play”.
The Israeli federation was held responsible by three FIFA judges for “tolerance of politicised and militaristic messaging within football contexts”, notably by fans of Beitar Jerusalem, and the “systemic exclusion of Palestinians from football infrastructure in Israeli settlements”. The disciplinary verdict against Israeli soccer, judged last August, was finally announced after a meeting of FIFA’s ruling council chaired by Infantino, who restated his organisation had peaceful goals in a month of turmoil for World Cup planning amid war in the Middle East.
Palestine’s contention
The Palestinian soccer federation has urged FIFA to act against Israel for supporting clubs in its national league from settlement communities in the West Bank. FIFA’s council decided on Thursday on advice from the governing body’s governance panel not to act on formal Palestinian complaints in 2024 against its Israeli counterpart, including a request to suspend membership. Palestinian soccer officials have long argued, including at FIFA annual congresses across the past 15 years, before Infantino was president, that Israel violates statutes by letting teams from settlements in the West Bank play in the national league.
FIFA wants Iran in US for World Cup
Infantino reiterated that FIFA is not moving towards granting Iranian requests to move the team’s three World Cup group games in June from the United States to Mexico. Iranian government and soccer officials have said they do not want to boycott the World Cup, but that it is not possible for the national team to come to the US because of military attacks on the country by Israel and US since February 28. The team is due to play two games at the Los Angeles Rams’ stadium in Inglewood and one in Seattle. “We have a schedule,” Infantino said in a statement on Thursday about the World Cup fixtures announced in December, adding “we want the FIFA World Cup to go ahead as scheduled.” No team has refused a World Cup entry since the 1950 edition, a 13-team event in Brazil held in lingering global chaos after World War II. It would be unprecedented in modern World Cup history for a team’s schedule to be changed after the draw for political reasons.
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