FIFA to take legal advice on Palestinian call for Israel suspension

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00:00Should Israel be suspended from FIFA?

00:03That's the motion the Palestine Football Association

00:06has put forward at FIFA's 74th annual congress in Bangkok.

00:10Regarding the proposal under discussion,

00:14the FIFA requests a vote in today's congress

00:18without any further delay as well as

00:21to temporarily suspend the IFA

00:24as a member of FIFA with immediate effect.

00:29The Palestine Football Association has accused Israel

00:32of a series of FIFA statutory violations in Gaza and the West Bank,

00:37one of which is to respect all internationally recognised human rights

00:41and to strive to promote their protection.

00:44The group claims that in Gaza around 100 footballers have been killed

00:48and all football facilities and infrastructure have been destroyed

00:51during Israel's war on Hamas,

00:54and notes that racism towards Palestinians

00:56is prevalent in Israeli football clubs.

00:59The proposal, which was formally submitted in March

01:01for discussion by FIFA's 211 members,

01:04has been endorsed by members of the West Asia Football Federation,

01:08including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

01:11Israel's football association has rebuked its claims.

01:15Once again, we are facing a cynical, political and hostile attempt

01:21by the Palestinian Association to harm the Israeli football.

01:26Make no mistake, the IFA never violated a rule set by FIFA or UEFA

01:32and will never do so in the future.

01:35During the opening of the congress,

01:37FIFA's president Gianni Infantino pleaded for football unity

01:41in an aggressive and divided world.

01:44He has said that FIFA will seek independent legal advice

01:47and that an extraordinary council will be convened before July 20.

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