In recent days, a growing global campaign is calling for soccer clubs based at Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories to be banned from participation in the Israeli Soccer League. Should the Israeli Soccer Association fail to comply, Israeli soccer in general might find itself expelled from FIFA, the International Soccer Association.
As might be recalled, on May last year Jibril Rajoub of the Palestinian Soccer Association demanded that Israel be ousted from FIFA. In the end Rajoub consented not to bring the matter up for a vote at the FIFA Congress, in return for FIFA establishing a Commission of Inquiry to look into Israel's conduct in soccer-related matters, including possible violations of International Law and of FIFA regulations. Among the issues brought up were arrests and detentions of Palestinian soccer players and restrictions on their freedom of movement, manifestations of anti-Arab racism in the Betar Jerusalem Club and especially the fact that there are six clubs playing in the Israeli Soccer League which are located in Occupied Palestinian Territory.
It should be noted that the State of Palestine is a full member of FIFA, and the Palestinian Soccer Association has the same standing in FIFA as the Israeli one. Further, all the land occupied by Israel since 1967 is considered by the International Community to be sovereign Palestinian territory.
According to FIFA regulations, soccer clubs located in the sovereign territory of a particular country must play in the national league of that country. Therefore, clubs located in settlements on land belonging to the State of Palestine should be playing in the Palestinian League. The very fact that they play in the Israeli League is a violation of FIFA regulations. To play in Israel, these clubs – six in number - would have needed to obtain a special dispensation from the Palestinian Soccer Association. In fact, no such dispensation was ever sought, never mind granted.
Source : http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/events/1464389870
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