FIFA Don't Dare To Take A Stand For Israel, Palestine Goes Directly To The International Olympic Committee

JAKARTA - Facing growing global calls to suspend Israel from football, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday, October 2, 2025, local time that his party must promote peace and unity and cannot resolve political issues.

Amid the heated period of football's politics, Infantino chaired a FIFA Council meeting that did not officially include Israel on the agenda before the 2026 World Cup Qualification match resumed next week.

The strongest push towards Israel by leaders of the European football federation during the two-year conflict in Gaza was halted after a peace proposal on Monday, September 30, 2025, at the White House by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Infantino stressed to his 37 board members the importance of promoting peace and unity, especially in the context of the ongoing situation in Gaza."

"FIFA cannot solve geopolitical issues. However, FIFA can and must promote football around the world by utilizing its unifying values, education, culture, and humanity," Infantino said in a statement that did not refer directly to Israel.

The World Football Federation did not schedule a press conference and Infantino refused to be interviewed after the FIFA Board meeting.

Israel is scheduled to leave for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers against Norway in Oslo, 11 October 2025, and against Italy in Udine three days later.

Norway is among the European football federations urging UEFA to hold a vote on its executive committee ahead of the FIFA meeting in Zurich to suspend Israel from international competitions.

The Turkish football body also directly urged UEFA and FIFA to suspend Israel.

Voting from a 20-member UEFA panel looks set to qualify, according to sources to The Associated Press, despite refusal from Israeli and German members.

FIFA and Infantino - who have built close ties with Trump ahead of the US hosting the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico - will most likely never take part in UEFA's vote.

The outlook grew further last week when the US State Department said it would seek to protect Israel's status in football.

The Trump-Netanyahu peace proposal on Monday was also immediately welcomed by the governments in the Middle East, including Qatar, the main supporter of the Palestinian people and has close ties to UEFA and its president, Aleksander Ceferin.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry welcomed a delegation of the National Olympic Committee of Palestine, led by its President Jibril Rajoub. They discussed the impact of conflict on athletes in Palestine, and the support IOC can provide in this tragic context. Read:… pic.twitter.com/VD71oyDwur

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) October 1, 2025

IOC President Kirsty Coventry welcomes a delegation of the National Olympic Committee of Palestine, sold by its President Jibril Rajoub. They disclosed the impact of conflict on athlete, and the support IOC can provide in this traffic context. Read:... pic.twitter.com/VD71oyDwur

The FIFA meeting on Thursday local time was attended by Ceferin and the group leader of European football club Nasser al-Khelaifi - who is also the President of Paris Saint-Germain. Al-Khelaifi is also a member of the Qatari government.

Seeing the FIFA move, Palestine took another step through the President of the Palestinian National Olympic Committee (NOC Palestine), Jibril Rajoub.

Jibril Rajoub has been in Switzerland this week and met on Thursday with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Kirsty Coventry.

The IOC president welcomed the Palestinian NOC delegation, led by Jibril Rajoub at the Olympic Building, Lausanne.

During the meeting, they discussed the impact of the ongoing conflict on the sport and athletes in Palestine, as well as what support the IOC can provide in this tragic context.

"Like all parties who care about peace in the region, we are following the latest diplomatic developments very closely and hope that these developments can soon lead to a path to peace."

"We continue to convey our deepest sympathy to all parties affected by this conflict. Of course we are in solidarity with the Olympic community in this area," said Coventry on the official IOC website.

The President of the IOC also highlighted the fundamental role of sports to unite the world in peaceful competitions.

As the IOC reiterated recently, it is currently more important than ever.

"With so many wars and conflicts affecting millions of innocent people around the world, sport has the ability to unite the whole world in peaceful competitions," he said.

In addition, the IOC President reaffirmed the international Olympic Committee's support for the planned revival of Palestinian sports, which Rajoub told the IOC last year.

At the time, the IOC announced it would coordinate efforts for international solidarity to mobilize funds from various international contributors to the plan, which aims to rebuild sports facilities destroyed in the Palestinian NOC region and resume sports activities.

During the meeting, the Palestinian NOC and the IOC also agreed on the allocation of a number of Olympic Solidarity scholarships for Palestinian athletes training for the 2025 Asian Youth Games in Bahrain, Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Israel and Palestine's NOC have been recognized by the IOC in their internationally recognized territory, with equal rights and peaceful coexistence in the Olympic Movement.

The two NOCs comply with the Olympic Charter. The IOC continues to communicate periodically with the second representatives of the NOC and continues to work closely with them to provide support for their athletes.

About 50 Palestinian athletes are expected to benefit from scholarships, with a main focus on qualifying for the 2025 Los Angeles Olympics.

Usually only a few Palestinians compete in the Olympics, with a total number of athletes less than 10.

Meanwhile, Israel insists that its war in Gaza is not against Gaza's population, but against the militant group Hamas whose fighters led the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to the hostage of 251 people, according to an Israeli tally.

The war in Gaza has killed more than 66,000 people, according to local health officials.