Fifa has postponed a decision on a Palestinian proposal to suspend Israel from international football because of the conflict with Hamas, clearing the way for the Israeli men’s national team to play at the Paris Olympics.
Football’s world governing body had been set to make a decision on Saturday at an extraordinary council meeting after asking for an independent legal assessment of the Palestinian proposal two months ago.
That decision would have come just days before the start of the Olympic football tournament, where Israel have been drawn into a group with Japan, Mali and Paraguay.
However, Fifa said on Thursday that it had pushed back the timeline because “more time is needed to conclude this process with due care and completeness” — meaning a decision is now set to come after the Olympics have finished.
Fifa said both parties had made requests for extensions “to submit their respective positions” and that the independent assessment will now be shared with Fifa by August 31 at the latest.
israel will return to the men’s Olympic football after 48 years.
The war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 in which Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people and took around 250 hostages.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry claims more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war which followed, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants in its count.
Palestine called for a vote to exclude Israel at the Fifa Congress, but only drew support from the Jordanian FA.
Fifa revealed the initial expected time frame for a decision has been extended, following requests from both parties over their submissions.
A Fifa statement read: “An independent legal assessment of the Palestinian Football Association proposals against the Israel Football Association was due to be provided to Fifa Council by July 20 2024.
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.”
