VANCOUVER: Palestinian football federation president Jibril Rajoub refused to participate in a photo opportunity with Israeli football official Basim Sheikh Suliman in a tense incident at the end of the FIFA Congress on Thursday.
After Rajoub and Suliman addressed the delegates, FIFA President Gianni Infantino invited the two men to stand with him.
However Rajoub declined the gesture, refusing Infantino’s repeated attempts to encourage him to participate in this moment.
At one point, Rajoub could be heard saying, “We are suffering.”
The Palestinian Football Federation recently appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against FIFA’s refusal to sanction Israel against football clubs based in the West Bank.
The PFA argues that clubs based in West Bank settlements should not be allowed to compete in leagues controlled by Israeli football authorities.
In 2024, United Nations 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 journalists on Thursday, Rajoub called on Fifa to “apply the statutes with fairness and logic”.
“What is happening in Palestine is terrible, the destruction of all Palestinian sports facilities in Gaza, the killing of hundreds of Palestinian athletes and employees… I think now is the time to bring justice,” Rajoub said.
“The guy who spoke on behalf of Israel, he didn’t even pay attention to the suffering, to what’s happening.
“I refused to shake hands. How can I shake hands or take a photo with such a man?”
