Iraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) met with FIFA president Sepp Blatter May 19, 2015 in Jerusalem to discuss a possible motion by the Palestinian Football Association to have Israel suspended from FIFA.Supplied/Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to support a FIFA-organized "match for peace" between Israeli and Palestinian soccer teams if the Palestinian football authority will withdraw its motion to have Israel suspended from the soccer world's governing authority.
The surprise pledge came during a meeting in Jerusalem between Mr. Netanyahu and Joseph "Sepp" Blatter, president of the International Association Football Federation, known by its French initials. The FIFA head made a two-day trip to Israel and Palestine in hopes he could patch up differences between the two nations over the alleged mistreatment of Palestinian soccer players by Israeli authorities.
Mr. Blatter said this was his "challenge number one" as he attempts to avoid having the dispute come to a vote at the upcoming FIFA congress later this month. Mr. Blatter, 79, also hopes the gathering of the popular sport's 209 member states will see him awarded a fifth four-year term at the helm.
It is unclear who suggested the idea of a peace match, but Mr. Blatter said that Mr. Netanyahu agreed.
"Yes, he said that – that if a game will be played between Palestine and Israel and we organize it in Zurich, he will be there and he said he would shake hands with everybody," said the Swiss football administrator.
"We would be happy – FIFA in Zurich – to accept the organization of such a competition."
It is not at all certain that the notion of a peace match will be embraced as enthusiastically by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas when he meets with Mr. Blatter Wednesday in Ramallah.
"We'll respond tomorrow," a senior Palestinian official said Tuesday night. "But I can say one thing: You can't behave as if things are normal in an abnormal situation."
Palestine, which has been a member of FIFA since 1998 and plays in the Asia division, complains that Israeli security forces occupying the West Bank severely restrict travel by its players, especially those who must travel from Gaza to the West Bank or who need to leave the territories to play in other countries.
The Palestine Football Association (PFA) also complains that Israeli league teams playing in five Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank do so illegally and should be stopped, and it alleges that some Israeli soccer clubs condone racist behaviour on and off the field.
A motion to suspend Israel as a result of these alleged misdeeds has been tabled and is on FIFA's agenda for a vote.
The only time a nation was suspended by FIFA was in 1961 when South Africa, then at the height of its apartheid system, was barred from playing by the organization.
Should 75 per cent of members vote in favour of the Palestinian motion, Israel too will be barred. If more than 50 per cent vote in favour, sanctions may be levied against it. Just having the vote is embarrassing to the Jewish state.
Rotem Kamer, head of the Israel Football Association, condemned the Palestinian effort and told reporters Tuesday it has "nothing to do with sports."
"We see it as a clear mix of politics and football, something which should not find a place in the FIFA congress," he said.
PFA head Jibril Rajoub, a former Palestinian security chief, rejected the criticism, saying the motion is not related to politics.
"The suspension of Israel is not our target. Our target is to help the Palestinian athletes to move," he told reporters in Ramallah.
Following his meeting with the FIFA chief, Mr. Netanyahu said only that Israelis "will discuss a certain number of measures that could improve the situation [of Palestinian football]." He gave no details.
Mr. Blatter said he would take this missive to the Palestinian leadership Wednesday.
"What they do with this message, it is then up to them but I will try … until the FIFA congress is open" to avoid having the motion put to a vote.
Mr. Kamer acknowledged a problem of racism existed in some soccer clubs, but said it was not unique to Israel. He said the authorities had taken harsh steps against Beitar Jerusalem, a club that refuses to use an Arab player and whose fans are notoriously anti-Arab.
Indeed, Beitar Jerusalem was punished two points in the league standings for a racist incident earlier this month.
On appeal, Monday, however, the punishment was halved, leaving Beitar still in contention for a coveted place in European competition.