Fifa faces renewed scrutiny over delay in action against Israeli FA

Fifa is once again under fire for what critics and rights organisations describe as "politically motivated stalling" in its handling of long-standing complaints against the Israel Football Association (IFA).

At its 75th annual congress in Paraguay on 15 May, Fifa general secretary Mattias Grafstrom said two internal committees are still reviewing whether the IFA has violated Fifa statutes by including clubs based in illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory in its national league. 

Fifa’s congress is essentially its general annual assembly, where major decisions about global football governance are made. 

Grafstrom said that the committees are requesting further expert input, particularly on territorial issues, and emphasised the independence of the process.

However, human rights group FairSquare argued on Wednesday that the delay reflects Fifa’s “ad hoc and selective enforcement of its rules”.

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The organisation, which conducts investigative research on sport, labour migration and political repression, said the IFA’s conduct breaches several core Fifa principles, including respect for international law, opposition to racial discrimination, and prohibition of political interference in sport.

FairSquare’s report, released in 2024, submitted alongside similar calls from the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and UN experts, accused the IFA of operating clubs in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, such as Ma’aleh Adumim, Kiryat Arba, and Ariel.

In a 2016 report, HRW urged Fifa to require the IFA to move all Fifa-sanctioned games and activities inside Israel, saying that by holding games on illegal settlements, Fifa was tarnishing the integrity of football and violating its human rights responsibilities.

“The illegality of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory is a matter of established fact,” said FairSquare, citing a 2016 UN Security Council resolution and a 2024 International Court of Justice ruling.

The status of Israeli settlements is widely regarded as a violation of international law, with the United Nations and International Court of Justice affirming that these settlements constitute a breach of the Geneva Conventions.

According to Fifa’s statutes, a football association may not organise matches in the territory of another association without permission, a rule the PFA said the IFA has flouted for over a decade.

The PFA has repeatedly called on Fifa to suspend or expel the IFA, citing violations that include systemic racial discrimination, the destruction of Palestinian sports infrastructure, and the killing of Palestinian players.

Many of these issues predate the October 2023 Hamas attack and the subsequent Israeli military offensive on Gaza.

“Our issue, sadly, again, is stuck in a highly politicised, bureaucratic holding pattern, not unlike the suffering of our people. Visible, undeniable, but sadly ignored,” PFA Vice President Susan Shalabi told delegates during Fifa’s Congress earlier this month.

Under Article 16 of Fifa’s statutes, both the Fifa Council and the full congress have the authority to suspend member associations.

Yet despite multiple proposals by the PFA since 2013 and again in 2024 and 2025, the Fifa Congress has never been allowed to vote on the matter. In 2017, the FIFA Council declined to act, saying that “Fifa must remain neutral with regard to political matters” and effectively closed the case.

In March 2024, the PFA formally requested that the Fifa Congress discuss sanctions against IFA. Fifa President Gianni Infantino responded by mandating an independent legal analysis, which has not been made public.

As of now, Fifa says the review process remains ongoing, with new committee members still being briefed.

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