VANCOUVER: Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub refused to take part in a photo opportunity with Israeli soccer official Basim Sheikh Suliman in a tense incident at the end of FIFA’s congress on Thursday.
After both Rajoub and Suliman addressed delegates, Fifa president Gianni Infantino invited both men to stand beside him.
However, Rajoub rejected the gesture and refused repeated attempts by Infantino to encourage him to participate in the moment.
At one point, Rajoub could be heard saying: “We are suffering.”
The Palestinian Football Association recently appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over Fifa’s refusal to sanction Israel over football clubs based in the West Bank.
The PFA maintains that clubs based in West Bank settlements should not be allowed to compete in leagues controlled by Israeli football authorities.
By 2024, UN experts said at least eight football clubs had been identified as playing in “Israeli colonial settlements” and called on Fifa to “fulfill its responsibility to respect human rights”.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Rajoub urged Fifa to “apply the statutes with fairness and logic.”
“What is happening in Palestine is terrible, the destruction of all the Palestinian sports facilities in Gaza, the killing of hundreds of Palestinian athletes, employees… I think it’s time to bring justice now,” Rajoub said.
“The guy who spoke for Israel, he didn’t even pay attention to the suffering, to what’s going on.
“I refused to shake hands. How can I shake hands or take a picture with a man like that?”
