THIS is with reference to the report ‘Israel must be suspended for violating FIFA statutes, human rights lawyers say’ (July 19). There could be no argument against banning the Zionist state for murdering over 40,000 Palestinians since October last year. Palestine Football Association (PFA) President Jibril Rajoub, in his address to the FIFA Congress in Bangkok, had stressed the need to ban Israel from all football-related activities for violating FIFA’s statutes amid the war where the Zionist state has been involved in a genocide of the Palestinians.

Russia was banned from the World Cup in Qatar by FIFA because of its military intervention in Ukraine, and it is unlikely that the country would be part of any global competition in the near future. However, there is no action by FIFA against Israel for its murderous campaign in Gaza, where it is involved in killing Palestinians.

We have often seen people in football stadiums around the world with Palestinian flags, showing solidarity with the people of Gaza. Should this not be enough proof of Israel’s crimes against humanity for FIFA? Or, being the governing body of a sport that is based in the West, FIFA, too, has chosen to shamelessly discriminate on the basis of geography and religion?

Nabeel Saleem
Hub

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Personal priorities
Updated 21 Mar, 2025

Personal priorities

Pet projects launched by govt often found to be poorly conceived, ripe for exploitation, misaligned with country’s overall development priorities.
Inheritance rights
21 Mar, 2025

Inheritance rights

THE Federal Shariat Court’s ruling that it is un-Islamic to deprive a woman of her right to inheritance is a...
Anti-Muslim actions
21 Mar, 2025

Anti-Muslim actions

MUSLIMS in India have endured incessant scrutiny of their nationalism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ...
Victim complex
Updated 20 Mar, 2025

Victim complex

If New Delhi is sincere about bringing peace to South Asia, let it agree to an unconditional dialogue with Islamabad about all irritants.
LSM decline
20 Mar, 2025

LSM decline

THE slump in large-scale manufacturing amidst the adjustments the economy is forced to make in order to stay afloat...
Education interrupted
20 Mar, 2025

Education interrupted

THE sudden closure of major universities in Balochistan, ostensibly due to ‘security concerns’, marks another...