Jibril Rajoub, the President of the Palestine Football Association has received a 12-month ban from FIFA. Rajoub told fans to burn shirts and picutres of Lionel Messi a few months back. This was part of an attempt to stop Argentina to play a friendly in Israel a few days before the World Cup. Rajoub and many others thought that the match between both teams was a ‘political tool’.
Before the match, Rajoub said, “He [Messi] is a big symbol so we are going to target him personally and we call on all to burn his picture and his shirt and to abandon him. We still hope that Messi will not come.”
Haifa was the original venue for the friendly before the venue was changed to Jerusalem. This angered Palestine. The change of venue came at the time when Donald Trump said that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel. Hence, the change in venue infuriated the Palestinians.
Argentina eventually decided against playing the match in Jerusalem, citing the Palestine issue as the reason. Following the cancellation of the match, Rajoub said in a news conference, “What happened… is a red card from the rest of the world to Israelis”. During that news conference, Rajoub sat next to a sign that said “From Palestine Thank You Messi”.
Rajoub’s plan worked well but FIFA thought that his gesture encouraged “hatred and violence”. FIFA said, “The 12-month match suspension imposed on Mr Rajoub entails a ban on taking part in any future match or competition taking place during the given period. Consequently, Mr Rajoub will not be able to attend football matches or competitions in any official capacity, which includes, among others, participating in media activities at stadiums or in their vicinity on matchdays.”
Rajoub will also receive a fine of $20,000 by FIFA.
