Presentation on the work

of the FIFA Monitoring

Committee Palestine-Israel
HOW IT STARTED, AND WHERE IT IS HEADING?
Introduction:

The grievances that Palestinian Football is suffering at the hands of the Israeli Occupation were not born yesterday.
They are as old as the occupation itself. What concerns us in the football forum is what ways has the Israeli Football
Association become a part of these violations, and what can be done by the football family to address these issues.

Reports of atrocities and violations that hindered the PFAs rights and obligations to organize, practice, or develop
the game started coming in 2008. Whereas some reports were about a player -or a team- being denied the right to
move and join a squad, or participate in a competition, other reports cried out the names of players or officials being
killed, injured, or detained without cause; Sport facilities demolished or broken into; The building of FIFA Goal
projects being halted and denied by the Israeli occupation.

Reports started to get sorted in an attempt to find solutions. The magnitude of what was happening was threatening
the growth and development of our budding football, and seriously interfering with our rights and obligations as
stipulated in Articles 13 and 14 of the FIFA statutes.
In 2010, PFA had a database of violations across 5
categories related to our football development:
1. Restrictions on the movement of players and officials in and out and within Palestine.
2) Restrictions on the movement of sport goods (including documents
sent by FIFA and AFC) in and out of Palestine.
3) Human rights violations against elements of the sport of football.
4. Political intervention by the occupier in our right to organize
friendly matches.
5. Restrictions on building and maintaining football related facilities by
the Israeli occupation, which at the same time- allowed illegal
settlement to build football facilities, and the IFA to organize
football on stolen Palestinian land.
2009-2013 : 5 years of complaints
These grievances were raised to the attention of FIFA
and AFC more than once over these 5 years, and it has
to be said that neither took the matter lightly.

FIFA MAs became conscience of the problem, and

more voices joined the demand to solve it in a way
that enables the Palestine FA to practice its rights and
obligations as other Members do

FIFA tried getting the message to the occupation

through its member, the Israeli Football Association.
But these efforts were in vain. The AFC always backed
these efforts.
 FIFA 63rd Congress May 2013 in Mauritius:
The Palestine Football Association submitted a proposal for the agenda of the 63rd FIFA
Congress to to discuss the situation of Palestinian football.
The Congress unanimously approved that a one-year mandate be given to the FIFA
President then, Mr. Joseph Blatter, to solve 5 grievances the PFA pointed out.
FIFA called both the PFA and IFA for several meetings to try form a mechanism -under the
umbrella of FIFA- to address the 5 issues, in the hope that the mandate ends by the next
congress with the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the PFA and IFA
This hope turned out to be more suited to the realm of dreams that reality, for the Israeli
FA refused a Mutual recognition in which both associations declare that they recognize
each other as the sole entity entitled to run and develop football in their respective
territories.
The Israeli FA even went as far as proposing a paper which constitutes a serious violation of
FIFA statutes which demands that The Palestine Football Association must operate
through the formal channels of the state of Israel
 FIFA 63rd Congress May 2013 in Mauritius:
To add insult to injury, Israeli authorities denied travel to Mr. Mohammad Amassi,
the Deputy General Secretary of the Palestine FA, who was supposed to be a
member of the Task Force that was to oversee the application of any mechanism.

The PFA tried to be positive, at the advice of its Confederation, the AFC, and its
friends in the larger football family. Its liaison officer cooperated in reporting
incidents through the mechanism, but these incident were only solved partly, and in
limited cases. The Israeli liaison officer kept explaining away the atrocities of the
Israeli occupation and finding excuses for incident of even the murder and
maiming of Palestinian players. He was playing the plastic surgeon that tries to
make a brutal occupation look good.
FA 64th Congress May 2014 in Sao Paulo:

While the football Community

was eagerly awaiting the FIFA
Presidents report, two players
were brutally beaten up, and one
shot dead in cold blood by an
Israeli sniper.
AFC President Sheikh Salman
confirmed AFCs full support
towards the Palestine FA, and
affirmed that AFC will keenly
wait for details of the said
<Blatters>report
FIFA 64th Congress May 2014 in Sao Paulo:

The report admitted that the progress was unsatisfactory, and asked for yet another extension of
the mandate.

The fact that the mechanism had not produced any real progress had necessitated the appointment
of a FIFA neutral monitor to report on the mechanism to the FIFA EXCO meeting of December 2014.
The President of the Cyprus Football Association Mr. Costakis Koutsoumnis was appointed to
perform the task.

Things got from bad to worse. The Israeli war on Gaza destroyed almost every football facility
there, and deprived Palestinian football from so many players, coaches, and officials.

The neutral monitor, surprisingly _or perhaps not so surprisingly_ submitted both his report and his
resignation to the FIFA EXCO
Why did the Mechanism not produce any viable change?

IFA organizes IFA justifies the

football official actions of the
activities in areas Israeli political and
under the military authorities
jurisdiction of
another association

The absence of a stance by

the IFA, against
discrimination and racism
 FIFA 65th Congress May 2015 in Zurich:

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) had had enough, and thus had no other
choice but to ask for a suspension of the Israel Football Association from FIFA based
on three issues:

Israeli restrictions on the movement of Palestinian players

1 and equipment

Israeli Football Association was organizing football activities

2 on the territory of the PFA

IFAs lack of action against racism in its football.

3
Following advice from the Presidents of all the Confederations,
and other football prominent figures, the proposal was
amended where suspension was withdrawn from the PFAs
proposal, in return that the Congress to vote a decision that a
committee be formed by FIFA to handle all three grievances
presented in the original proposal.

The 65th Congress agreed, by an overwhelming majority as set

out in its approved minutes, and with the agreement of the IFA,
the FIFA Monitoring Committee Palestine-Israel, led by Tokyo
Sexwale, was mandated by the FIFA 65th Congress to cover the
three issues, but would not handle political or territorial
matters pending an answer on the issue of territory which
should be decided by the United Nations.
Sexwale produced a report on the Monitoring Committees
work. The report said there was a minor progress in the
movement issue, but there was still more work to be done.

FIFAs new President Gianni Infantino and Tokyo Sexwale

declared their aim to resolve the settlement clubs issue,
before the FIFA Council meeting on 13-14 October 2016.
 International interest in the FIFA Monitoring
Committee Palestine-Israel
International Organizations started
writing to the Monitoring
Committee and to FIFA urging for
an application of the statutes on
matter of the settlement clubs:

Asked FIFA to Argued that IFA Urged FIFA to not

Ban teams from either remove the allow these
settlements in settlement settlement teams
occupied football teams to be members if
Palestine from from its they remain
competing in membership, or based in occupied
Israels League have its own territory
membership of
FIFA suspended.
International interest in the FIFA Monitoring
Committee Palestine-Israel

Said that with Urged FIFA to to act in Urged FIFA not to

Asked FIFA to accordance with FIFA
apply its own Israels total Statutes, international law, accept football clubs
Statutes, urging disregard of UN the existing precedents and that play on stolen
resolutions . It FIFAs human rights land as member
the Israeli football commitments. On this
would be a mockery associations, and to
league to stop its of FIFA's Mission and
basis, FIFA should rule that
suspend the
settlement clubs either
activities in the Statutes if an Israeli fully relocate within Israels participation of
settlements. city were awarded internationally recognized those that violate its
borders or are excluded
the status of hosting from the Israeli Football rules and
games Association. regulations.
International interest in the FIFA Monitoring
Committee Palestine-Israel
issued a comprehensive report 26th September
2016 affirming that By allowing the IFA to
hold matches inside settlements, FIFA is
engaging in business activity that supports
Israeli settlements, contrary to the human
rights commitments it recently affirmed.
The report concludes by saying: This problem
has one solution: FIFA should tell the IFA clubs
to practice, pass, and play all you want but
only inside Israel.
The Special Adviser to the United Nations
Secretary General on Sports for Development
and Peace: The United Nations Security
Council has determined that Israeli settlements
in occupied territory have no legal validity, as
they are in breach of international lawI
therefore urge a resolution of any disputes in
line with the United Nations Security Council
Resolutions and FIFA Statutes within a
reasonable timeframe.
Shuttle Visits:

Mr. Sexwale visited Palestine and Israel on the 1st of July. The
chairman of the Monitoring Committee himself was unnecessarily
detained for about 40 minutes on the Erez checkpoint (between
Gaza and the West Bank) as he made his way out of Gaza. As a
result, he was 30- minutes late for his meeting with the Israeli
minister of Sports, who refused to see him because of the delay!

Later on the same day, as he was trying to cross from Israel to

Palestine for a meeting with H.E. the Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbass, scheduled at 22h00, Mr. Sexwale was deferred
from 2 checkpoints, and crossed the third one almost by a miracle.
The Palestinian President met him, nonetheless, despite being 2
hours late.

In spite of Sexwales efforts to hold a meeting of the Monitoring

Committee in September ahead of the Council, this did not happen
because the IFA said it was not available to meet.
 FIFA Council Meeting 14 October 2016
The FIFA Council met on the 14th of October 2016.
The FIFA Monitoring Committees report was tabled
under Any other matters in the agenda of the
meeting, and neither a decision, nor a report by
sexwale were made. Sexwale admitted that he was
already playing in the extra time but asked for
more time nonetheless. Thus a decision was
postponed to the next Council meeting on 9-10
January 2017.
 FIFA Monitoring Committee Meeting on
1 November 2016
The PFA:
Referred to article 72.2 of the FIFA Statutes (no member association can administer football in the
territory of another member association)
International community, several UN resolutions and the international Court of Justice (2004) determine
that the territories in question are Palestinian.
a "Crimea solution* could be accepted.

The IFA:
5 clubs are located in Area C", under full political and military control of Israel until the final and
permanent agreement between both parties is negotiated.
the UN resolutions do not support the claim made by the PFA regarding the territories in question.
In relation to his letter, Wilfred Lemke, The Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on
Sport for Development and Peace, does not have enough authority to give an opinion on the matter.
 UN Resolution 2334 on the 23rd of
December 2016
If Lemkes letter did not possess enough
authority, gave everyone the answer they have
been waiting for on Israels settlement policy,
stating beyond any doubt that it constitutes a
flagrant violation of international law. It clearly
defines Palestinian territories as the territories
occupied by Israel after the 1967 war, including
east Jerusalem, and states that all measures
including construction and expansion of
settlements, transfer of Israeli settlers,
confiscation of land, demolition of homes and
displacement of Palestinian civilians in said
territories are in violation of international
humanitarian law, Israel's obligation as the
occupying Power according to the Fourth Geneva
Convention, and previous resolutions.
Failure to meet before the FIFA Council
Meeting on 9 January 2017
The FIFA Monitoring Committee failed to meet
again before the Councils meeting in January, again
due to Israeli delays and postponement.

The FIFA Council met on the 9th of January, 2017,

and Sexwale presented his report, but no decision
was taken. He asked -yet again! - for more time,
and the council gave the Monitoring Committee a
month to meet and present a final report. FIFA
President Infantino made a statement to the Press
disclosing that he expected a final report within
one month.
 Until When?!!
More than a month has passed, but no report has
been made, and the Committee did not meet.
Sexwale proposed the next (and supposedly final
meeting) of the FIFA Monitoring committee for late
February, or early March, which, as you may have
already noted, exceeds the 30 days. Yet, the IFA said
these dates are not suitable and proposed to have a
meeting in late March!

Next Meeting has been agreed on the next 22nd of

March
PFAs official position on the settlement clubs as ratified by
the PFA Board and communicated to FIFA
The PFA regards the affiliation to the IFA of clubs based in
Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including Maaleh
Adumim, Kiryat Arba, Givat Zeev, Bikat Hayarden and Ariel
as an ongoing material violation of Article 72 (2) of the FIFA
2016 Statutes. Because, regardless of their size, the
settlement-based clubs in question must participate in the
IFAs official competitions (e.g. The Israel State Cup and
regular season leagues); and IFA-affiliated clubs based in
Israel must play IFA-scheduled matches in settlement
venues. This cannot be allowed to continue.
 Articles of FIFA statutes that are breached
by the settlement clubs:
Art 11 (1): only one association shall be recognized as a member association in each country
Art 72 (2): Member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member
association without the latters approval.
Art 73: Associations, leagues or clubs that are affiliated to a member association may only join
another member association or take part in competitions on that member associations territory
under exceptional circumstances. In each case, authorization must be given by both member
associations, the respective confederation(s) and by FIFA.
In addition, FIFAs continued acceptance of the settlement clubs appears to conflict with the newly
added FIFA statutes article on human rights and with the article on non-discrimination:
Art 3: FIFA is committed to respecting all internationally recognized human rights and shall strive to
promote the protection of these rights.
Art 4: Discrimination of any kind () is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or
expulsion.
 Conclusion:
The Palestine FA has literally bent backwards for the sake of good faith,
in trust of the Chairman of the Committee, and in line with its
commitment as a FIFA and AFC member, and a member of the
monitoring Committee; but it cannot go on enduring this situation
alone when there is a grave concern -that I am sure you share- that the
issue be postponed indefinitely, while Palestinian players still suffer,
while AFC has to issue exceptions for teams that cannot travel to
Palestine, and sport goods it cannot deliver to its member association of
Palestine, and while Israeli settlement clubs continue playing on stolen
Palestinian lands, within the area of jurisdiction of the Palestine Football
Association.