https://nypost.com/2015/05/25/the-disgraceful-drive-to-kick-israel-out-of-fifa/
[ Now, what reasons could Israel possibly have for barring some West Bank Palestinians from entering Israel to go to go compete at an international sports event ? Just because? Apparently, Israel's enemies are other people's friends. ]
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The most egregious case, though, was that of 23-year-old Omar Abu Rwayyis (also spelled Rois or Ruis), a native of the Amari refugee camp near Ramallah, who in addition to being the goalkeeper of the Palestinian Olympic team was also an employee of the Red Crescent, the local version of the Red Cross. Abu Rwayyis was
arrested in April 2012, along with 12 other Amari residents, for participating in a Hamas plot to attack IDF soldiers. Abu Rwayyis, along with other Red Crescent employees, helped transport Kalashnikovs that were used to fire on IDF vehicles. Even if 99% percent of Palestinian soccer players are totally disconnected from terrorism (and are totally impervious to the pro-terrorism brainwashing that takes place at youth tournaments), the actions of players like Abu Rwayyis have created a real risk to the Israeli population that the security forces are obligated to act upon. And even though in recent months restrictions on Palestinian athletes’ travel have been eased—46 Gazans were allowed to travel to the West Bank to run a
marathon—Israel’s hesitancy to simply wave through soccer players (or Red Crescent employees, for that matter) is justified. This is to say nothing of the
repeated use of Gaza soccer stadiums as launching pads for rockets fired on Israeli civilians, forcing the Israeli Air Force to destroy them.
Jibril Rajoub must know all this. And if he is a student of the FIFA bylaws, he would also know that he and his federation are likely in violation of article 3 of the FIFA Statutes (“Discrimination of any kind against a Country…or group of people on account of…national or social origin…is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion”), article 14 of the FIFA Code of Ethics (“In dealings with government institutions, national and international organizations, associations and groupings, persons bound by this Code shall…remain politically neutral”), and possibly article 53.1 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (“A player or official who publicly incites others to hatred or violence will be sanctioned with match suspension for no less than twelve months and with a minimum fine of CHF 5,000”). Of course, Israel Football Association president Ofer Eini didn’t bring this up at the FIFA Congress, instead choosing to take the high road and shake Rajoub’s hand. In fact, in the days before the Congress, Israel even offered a compromise to the Palestinians, as the Times of Israel
described:
(full article online)
FIFA, the Palestinians, and the Future of World Football
