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To all FIFA member associations Ramallah, May 15th, 2015, Situation of Palestinian football Resolution presented to the FIFA Congress Ladies and Gentlemen Presidents, Ladies and Gentlemen General Secretaries, Dear colleagues, Once again, unfortunately, and on behalf of the whole Palestinian football community, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) had no other choice but to submit a proposal to the FIFA Congress to address the problems we have been facing for years since we became a member of FIFA in 1998, in order to develop the game and to obtain the full implementation of the FIFA Statutes, its principles, rights and obligations. For the third year in a row after the 63rd FIFA Congress in Mauritius and the 64th in São Paulo in 2013 and 2014 respectively! You could find the mention of the proposal in the agenda under item 15.1, but since the text of this resolution has not been included in the agenda, the complete text is enclosed with this circular letter for your information and your perusal. This resolution is based on three specific items: ‐ The fact that the freedom of movement for Palestinian players and officials within, in and out the Palestinian territories, and for foreign teams and officials in and out the Palestinian territories, the import of donated football equipment and the building of football infrastructures continue to be hindered, limited and obstructed by a set of unilateral regulations and their arbitrary and inconsistent implementation. ‐ The fact that the Israeli FA (IFA) has not dealt properly with the racist and discriminatory behavior of the officials and fans of top‐tier club Beitar Jerusalem. ‐ The fact that five clubs play in Israeli leagues while they are located in territories recognized by the international community as Palestinian territories in violation of the relevant articles 83 and 84 of the FIFA Statutes. In order to change the current situation, the PFA submitted the proposal to suspend the IFA until facts on the ground are changed and until notably, the Israeli authorities will ensure that the PFA and the Palestinian football community can benefit from the principles enshrined in the FIFA Statutes. x x x I am sure that you have heard, read and been told a lot about what the PFA is trying to achieve. That it is a political move. That it is motivated by extremism. That it is distorting the reality. So allow me to speak to you as a colleague with all frankness and with my heart. 1) – The PFA has shown compromise and flexibility on many opportunities. In the FIFA Congress in Mauritius in 2013, we accepted to establish a bilateral mechanism between the PFA and the IFA with liaison officers but this did not produce any permanent or consistent results. In the FIFA Congress in Brazil in 2014, we raised the issue again and accepted the proposal by the FIFA President to solemnly call upon the Israeli authorities on behalf of FIFA and to establish a mediation mechanism under FIFA’s leadership. This second compromise failed too with the FIFA mediator resigning after six months and because of the intransigence of the Israeli authorities including during the FIFA President’s visit in the region in the summer 2014. I want to stress as well, since I am also the President of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, that in 2010 and 2011, the then IOC President, Dr Jacques Rogge, intervened on behalf of the Olympic movement to improve the situation. We had three meetings between the Palestinian and Israeli Olympic Committees with one in Ramallah, in the Palestinian territory, under the auspices of the IOC and during which we even signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding. Regretfully, the IOC mediation stopped because it did not meet any positive understanding from the Israeli political authorities. 2) – The PFA is not at all engaged in a political campaign. My motivation, our motivation is purely a sport one. The PFA as a good member of FIFA is ready to officially recognize and cooperate with the IFA as long as it is done on a mutual basis. We are neighbors in the region and as you surely know, a lot of Palestinian‐Israeli players play in the Israeli clubs and national teams. More and more players are transferred between clubs of the two FAs and even recently, a dispute between a Palestinian club and an Israeli club over the transfer of a player was decided by the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber in favor of the first of the two, with the same process and along the same principles like around our world football community. But you all know the situation existing in the region for more than sixty years and I do not need to elaborate. I can also here solemnly say that I would not like anyone in our world football community, not even the Israeli football community, to face and to live through the daily obstacles, the arbitrary implementation of unilateral rules, the use of the legitimate concerns on security – that we share – as an alibi to deny the Palestinian football community the same rights than the 208 others under FIFA. 3) – The PFA has plenty of ground and proven examples to complain about. Allow me to put the record straight. Yes, we obtain some permits to enter and come back. Yes, we receive permits to import donated football equipment. Yes, foreign teams visit us. But let’s look at some unquestionable examples and the conditions on how these permits are either authorized or refused, among so many other examples: ‐ In the past years, FIFA and confederation officials have been stopped for no reason at borders and checkpoints. Even the FIFA President in 1999 and 2008 and the UEFA President faced this experience. A few months ago, A FIFA Zurich‐based official was stopped six hours at the entrance into the Gaza Strip while he was given all permits and his mission had been properly notified in advance. ‐ Successive coaches of our national teams could not ‐ and still cannot ‐ call on players from Gaza to come to the West Bank for simple training camps. ‐ The PFA Deputy General Secretary based in Gaza was denied a permit to attend the FIFA Congress in Brazil last year without any explanation and more surprisingly in spite of the fact that he had previously received these permits without a problem. ‐ The location of FIFA Goal projects to build artificial fields in Palestine had to be changed many times due to Israeli decisions, not to mention the fact that building was stopped temporarily on various projects without notification and due to pressure of Israeli settlers’ groups supported by the Israeli army. ‐
The import of donated equipment has been retained during months for administrative reasons by the Israeli customs authority. ‐
Regarding the foreign teams and officials coming to Palestine for FIFA and/or AFC competitions and/or official missions, arbitrary is the rule. Two months ago, a foreign team and some AFC officials who had received the permits to play in Palestine for the AFC Cup were stopped during seven hours at the border without any justification. And last but not least, the PFA has to present the permit requests 35 days before a match, a deadline which is inconsistent with the football internationally‐accepted practices and regulations in that matter as well as totally incompatible with the sport management of players (choice given to the coaches to select the players, last‐minute substitution of players due to injury). ‐ Finally, who among you would accept that some foreign clubs based on your territory would play in a competition organized by your neighbor? 4) – The PFA is not unfairly aiming at the IFA. Some say that it is unfair to try to punish the IFA for some decisions taken by the Israeli authorities. Others pretend that no member association fulfilling its statutory duties should be suspended. Firstly, I want to say that since we launched our proposal to the Congress, the IFA started to punish Beitar Jerusalem for the racist behavior of the members of that club. This vindicates our actions. Secondly, FIFA regularly suspends member associations which fulfill their statutory obligations. The records show plenty of cases of FAs who have been suspended or threatened to be suspended to ensure that political authorities of any kind would respect the autonomy of the game in line with article 13.3 of the FIFA Statues stating that “violations may also lead to sanctions even if the third‐party influence was not the fault of the member concerned.” Finally, which other means can the PFA use to impose a change of the behavior of the Israeli political authorities except using the threat of such a suspension of the IFA? By the way, it is the same method that FIFA uses to force a government to respect the autonomy of a FA: the threat of a political cost in front of the local public opinion. x x x Allow me to conclude by asking for your help. The PFA wants a solid, permanent and efficient mechanism under FIFA’s authority to ensure its rights are respected. We are ready to accept such a mechanism as long as it is based on clear terms of reference and on the FIFA Statutes. A united front by all FIFA member associations can achieve this goal. Our aim is to stop the suffering of our footballers and ensure that Palestinian football is allowed to benefit from the rights and carry out the obligations enshrined in the FIFA statutes. The PFA had no other choice but to submit the enclosed proposal to the 65th FIFA Congress. With my best regards Jibril Rajoub President Palestine Football Association Cc.: FIFA President FIFA Vice‐presidents FIFA Executive Committee members