FIFA

After FIFA complaint, Israel lets Gaza soccer players travel to championship game in Hebron

The Palestine Cup final, which was originally scheduled to take place Saturday, was delayed due to an Israeli-imposed travel ban on 11 players from Gaza. Petition to boot Israeli settlement teams collects 150,000 signatures. By Yoni Mendel Seventy-two hours after Israel refused to allow 11 Palestinian soccer players travel from Gaza to the West Bank to participate…

By +972 Magazine August 1, 2016

Hebron’s Ahly al-Khalil plays Gaza-based Shejaiya in the 2015 Palestine Cup, held in Hebron, West Bank, August 14, 2015. Hebron won the title. (Flash90)

Palestinians turn to FIFA over Israeli restrictions

For the second time in a week, Israeli authorities place travel restrictions on players meant to participate in Palestine Cup matches. A motion to expel Israel from FIFA last year was withdrawn after Palestinians received assurances on freedom of movement. By Yoni Mendel The Palestinian Football Association said it will escalate its complaint with FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, over…

By +972 Magazine July 30, 2016

Palestine solidarity protesters supporting the BDS movement, 2010. (Photo by Stephanie Law/CC, cropped)

Israel’s ‘war on BDS’ misses the point

Israel’s best-selling daily paper enlists in the war against international isolation and boycott. But ‘Yedioth,’ like many others in Israel, is ignoring the driving force behind boycott and international isolation — the occupation. By Tomer Persico Israel’s best-selling daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth and its website, Ynet, launched a special project on Monday. Under the banner, “Fighting…

By +972 Magazine June 1, 2015

Latest

Palestinian children show Israeli soldiers the red card during the weekly demonstration in Nabi Saleh, May 29, 2015. (Natasha Roth)

PHOTOS: Showing Israeli soldiers the red card in Nabi Saleh

The campaign to expel Israel from FIFA makes its way to the weekly anti-occupation protests in the West Bank. As the world watched the FIFA Congress Friday to see whether the international soccer organization would vote to expel Israel from the association, today’s weekly demonstration in Nabi Saleh took the form of a soccer game.…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland May 29, 2015

Palestinian youth protest in solidarity with soccer player Mahmoud Sarsak, who was held in administrative detention for three years. Nablus, 2012. (Photo by Ahmad al-Baz/Activestills.org)

Expulsion or not, Palestinians can declare victory at FIFA

As the vote on the possible expulsion of Israel from FIFA draws nearer, the Israeli delegation suddenly decides to discuss easing restrictions on Palestinian players, who just yesterday were deemed ‘security threats.’ What gives? At this point, it is unclear whether FIFA will vote to expel Israel from soccer’s international governing body on Friday, or…

By Haggai Matar May 29, 2015

Beitar Jerusalem soocer club fans celebrate in Jerusalem after the team wins the Israeli championships.
Jerusalem, May 14, 2007.
Photo: Tess Scheflan/ Activestills.Org

What Israelis don’t get about attempts to boot Israel from FIFA

It is incomprehensible that one of the premier clubs in Israel doesn’t allow Arab players — because they are Arab. By Asaf Marziano The head of Palestinian Football Federation, Jibril Rajoub, is attempting to have Israel expelled from FIFA, soccer’s international governing body. The topic has been making headlines in Israel and internationally in recent…

By +972 Magazine May 25, 2015

Palestinian youth protest in solidarity with soccer player Mahmoud Sarsak, who was held in administrative detention for three years. Nablus, 2012. (Photo by Ahmad al-Baz/Activestills.org)

When even Israel’s sports reporters ignore Palestinians

It turns out that only threatening measures by the Palestinian Authority make the Israeli media notice Palestinian athletes. By Asaf Marziano A “blind spot” is a kind of built-in flaw in the human eye. This spot exists for all of us, meaning that our view of the world will always lack that certain spot. Because…

By The Seventh Eye April 8, 2015

Palestinian soccer star Ashraf Nuaman. (photo: Nasya Bahfen CC BY-ND 2.0)

How one soccer match tells the entire Palestinian story

On Friday morning, the Palestine national soccer team will face off against Jordan, a team with a majority of Palestinian players, in the Asian Cup. Whether they choose to or not, the 22 players on the field will tell the story of refugees, occupation, checkpoints and the connection between home and diaspora. Oh, and they’ll…

By +972 Magazine January 15, 2015

Beitar Jerusalem fans (Courtesy of beitarfc.co.il)

The case of soccer racism and the success of international pressure

The issue of racism and Islamophobia among Beitar Jerusalem fans was considered an ‘unsolvable problem’ – until it was solved. One of the nastiest problem in Israeli soccer is about to get better, if not completely disappear: The issue of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism among fans, players and staff. This is a decades-long problem in some…

By Noam Sheizaf February 12, 2013