As FIFA meets, Palestinian Football Association glorifies terror
As FIFA Congress meets,
Palestinian Football Association (PFA) glorifies terror
PFA supervises "the Prince of Martyrs Abu Jihad
Football Championship"
Football Championship"
 |
| Terrorist Abu Jihad's picture can be seen in the circle. Source: Official PA daily Al Hayat Al-Jadida, May 8, 2017 |
Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Just days before the international football organization FIFA is set to meet for its annual Congress, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), a member of FIFA, has once again chosen to use football to honor and promote terror.
The official Palestinian Authority daily Al Hayat Al-Jadida reported yesterday that the Palestinian Football Association this week continued its supervision of the annual football tournament named after Abu Jihad - Khalil Al-Wazir, the arch-terrorist responsible for the murder of 125 Israelis:
"The Jerusalem Al-Nasser club has successfully organized the Prince of Martyrs Khalil Al-Wazir [Abu Jihad] Championship for the 23rd consecutive year... This is under the supervision of the Central Branch of the [Palestinian] Football Association and under the joint auspices of the Central Branch of the [PLO] Supreme Council for Sport and Youth and the Jerusalem Clubs Association."
[Official PA daily Al Hayat Al-Jadida, May 8, 2017]
The PFA's holding of the tournament this week is a slap in the face to FIFA, which prides itself on FIFA members using football to promote peace, and prohibits FIFA members from promoting racism, hate, and terror.
Ironically, it's the terror promoting PFA that has submitted a request to the FIFA Congress to have Israel expelled from FIFA. Debating this proposal appears as one of the topics on the agenda of the coming Congress. What is missing from FIFA's agenda is the call for censuring and expelling the PFA and its president Jibril Rajoub.
Palestinian Media Watch has recently submitted a complaint to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, documenting that for years the PFA and Rajoub have openly and brazenly breached FIFA regulations by promoting and glorifying terrorism, inciting hatred and violence, promoting racism and preventing the use of football as a bridge to peace. PMW's complaint was coordinated with and likewise submitted by the Lawfare Project and UK Lawyers for Israel. Subsequently, 30 families of terror victims likewise signed and submitted the complaint as well as numerous NGOs. In addition, members of German Parliament submitted a complaint to FIFA about Rajoub and the PFA.
PMW's complaint highlights the following violations and appropriate punishments:
- For breaching Article 4 of the FIFA Statute - suspension or expulsion.
- For breaching Article 53 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code - a match suspension for no less than twelve months and a minimum fine of CHF 20,000.
- For breaching Article 58 of the FIFA Disciplinary code - a match suspension for at least five matches and a minimum fine of CHF 30,000.
- For breaching Article 3 of the FIFA Statutes penalties are not prescribed, but in accordance with Article 11 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code - a ban on taking part in any football-related activity for an extended period of time.
Click to view PMW's complaint which includes additional examples of the PFA's supervision of the annual tournament glorifying arch-terrorist Abu Jihad.
In light of the tournament supervised by the PFA glorifying the murderer of 125 Israelis held this week, PMW is again calling on the FIFA Council which is meeting now to add the PNA's serious breaches to the agenda of the FIFA Congress. In the interest of removing Palestinian terror from football and resolving the PFA's complaints against Israel, FIFA should discuss all the complaints pertaining to the Israel and Palestinian football associations as one agenda topic.
Dear PMW readers: You are welcome to submit PMW's complaint to FIFA by emailing it to FIFA's legal advisor and the FIFA Secretariat Investigatory Chamber to demand that all complaints be united into one agenda topic.
- Head of the FIFA legal department Marco Villiger - [email protected]
- FIFA Secretariat Investigatory Chamber - [email protected]
The following is the article describing PFA's recent terror promotion, as reported in the official PA daily.
"The Jerusalem Al-Nasser club has successfully organized the Prince of Martyrs (Shahids) Khalil Al-Wazir (i.e., terrorist, responsible for murder of 125) Championship for the 23rd consecutive year... with the participation of 12 Jerusalem clubs. This is under the supervision of the Central Branch of the [Palestinian] Football Association and under the joint auspices of the Central Branch of the [PLO] Supreme Council for Sport and Youth and the Jerusalem Clubs Association."
[Official PA daily Al Hayat Al-Jadida, May 8, 2017]
Abu Jihad (Khalil Al-Wazir) - was a founder of Fatah and deputy to Yasser Arafat. He headed the PLO terror organization's military wing and planned many deadly Fatah terror attacks murdering 125 Israelis. This included the most lethal in Israeli history, the hijacking of a bus and murdering of 37 civilians, 12 of them children.