Nervous wait for Israel ahead of Fifa congress

JACK MILNER

“Negotiations are still going on but they are very complicated,” a top Fifa official told AFP. “There may not be a solution until the final hours.”

Fifa President Sepp Blatter, who at the age of 79 is seeking re-election to his position, is clearly feeling threatened by this action as his opponent for the job is Jordanian Prince Ali bin al Hussein who is gaining support in Europe, especially since Uefa President Michel Platini has come out in support of the Jordanian. Uefa is the controlling body of European football.

Platini has accused Blatter of lying to him about seeking a new term. “In 2011 he asked us face-to-face to support him for what would be his last mandate,” Platini told French sports newspaper L’Equipe in an interview. “I have the unpleasant feeling of having given my support on the basis of a lie.” he added.

Platini said Blatter had made good decisions in his 40-year career, but that he could just not let go of power. “He is not staying on because he has a job to complete or because he still has some big projects to carry out for Fifa. No, he simply is scared of what the future holds for him having consecrated his life to Fifa to the point that he identifies himself totally with it.”

Platini believes it is the right time for new blood to be brought in and that Prince Ali, 39, would make a “great president” of Fifa.

Another broadside to Blatter came from Argentine football legend Diego Maradona who told the Daily Telegraph that a fifth term for Blatter would be “an absurdity. Under Sepp Blatter, Fifa has become a disgrace and a painful embarrassment to those of us who care about football deeply,” the 1986 World Cup winner said. 

A defeat for Blatter over the proposed Israeli expulsion, could have further ramifications as far as his bid for the presidency is concerned. The first prize for Blatter is for the call for the vote to be withdrawn from the agenda, but only Palestine can do that. However, Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub, has so far refused to withdraw the motion, which will require the backing of three-quarters of the 209 member federations to pass.

He declared the situation in the West Bank far worse than apartheid that existed in South Africa, because right-wingers and extremists in Israel wanted to “delete Palestine”. In the 1960s, Fifa suspended South Africa for decades after it failed to comply with the association’s non-discrimination policies. South Africa was also expelled from Fifa a month after the Soweto Youth Uprising of 1976.

“I am not asking for the suspension of the Israeli association; I am asking to end the suffering of the Palestinian footballers,” Rajoub said. “I am asking to end the grievances, the humiliation we are facing.”

Ramallah, which has been a Fifa member since 1998, wants to bar Israel from international competition over what it calls the restrictions on the movement of Palestinian players. Ramallah also opposes the participation in the Israeli championship league of five clubs located in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Blatter flew off to the Middle East on Monday to have talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, but did not report whether any deal had been struck when he met with the Fifa board.

Blatter’s main talks have been with Rajoub and Israel Football Association President Ofer Eini, who says restrictions on Palestinian players are a security question and not in the domain of the sports body.