Palestinian and Israeli federation delegates clash at Fifa Congress
The Palestinian football federation’s president refused to stand alongside the Israel FA’s vice-president despite Gianni Infantino’s insistence
The president of the Palestinian football federation Jibril Rajoub refused to stand alongside Israel FA Vice-President Basim Sheikh Suliman in a heated moment at the Fifa Congress on Thursday. Both men were called to the stand by Fifa President Gianni Infantino , but Rajoub declined to be brought closer to Arab-Israeli Suliman. Infantino put his hand on Rajoub's arm and invited him with a gesture to come closer to Suliman, but in vain.
Asked what Rajoub said when he refused, Palestinian FA Vice-President Susan Shalabi, who was in the room, told Reuters : “I cannot shake the hand of someone the Israelis have brought to whitewash their fascism and genocide. We are suffering. ” Israel has denied committing genocide in Gaza.
Infantino then took the stand and said: “We will work together, President Rajoub, Vice-President Suliman. Let's work together to give hope to the children. These are complex matters.
” Speaking to Reuters after the Congress ended, Shalabi said Infantino's attempt to have Suliman and Rajoub shake hands showed little consideration for the Palestinian FA chief's speech, in which he made yet another plea for Israeli clubs not to base teams in the West Bank settlements. She said: “To be put in a position where to have a handshake after everything that was said, this negates the whole purpose of the speech that the general (Rajoub) was giving. “He spent like 15 minutes trying to explain to everyone how the rules matter, how this could easily become a precedent where the rights of member associations are violated with impudence, and then we'll just wrap this under the carpet.