FIFA has delayed its decision on a Palestinian bid to suspend Israel from international soccer until after the Paris Olympics. Both parties requested more time to submit their positions, according to a statement on Thursday.
The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) submitted a proposal in May to suspend Israel over the Gaza war, prompting FIFA to order an urgent legal evaluation and schedule an extraordinary council meeting in July. FIFA announced that the legal assessment would now be shared with its council by August 31.
“Following requests for extension from both parties to submit their respective positions, duly granted by FIFA, more time is needed to conclude this process with due care and completeness,” FIFA stated on its X account.
The Paris Olympics will run from July 26 to August 11, with the men’s soccer tournament starting on July 24. Israel has qualified for the men’s tournament and will play against Mali, Paraguay, and Japan in the group phase.
The PFA received FIFA’s letter about the postponement on Thursday and sought clarification on the process for handling the legal opinion. “The FIFA letter did not specify the mechanism by which the independent legal opinion will be handled by the council when presented,” the PFA said in a statement on Friday. The PFA had previously requested clarifications from FIFA on this matter multiple times.
A recent report by international law experts urged FIFA to ban Israel for violating several of FIFA’s statutes related to human rights and humanitarian objectives. Since the October 7 cross-border raid by militant group Hamas, which Israel says killed over 1,200 people, Israel’s Gaza offensive has resulted in more than 38,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza health officials.
Critics accuse Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians, a charge Israel denies, stating that its strikes target militants to prevent another attack like the one on October 7.
