FIFA has postponed a decision on a Palestinian proposal to suspend Israel from international football because of the conflict with Hamas, paving the way for the Israel men’s national team to play at the Paris Olympics.
ZURICH — FIFA has postponed a decision on a Palestinian proposal to suspend Israel from international football due to the conflict with Hamas, paving the way for the Israeli men’s national team to play at the Paris Olympics.
Football’s world governing body was due to make a decision on Saturday at an extraordinary council meeting after asking for an independent legal assessment of the Palestinian proposal two months ago. This decision would have been taken just four days before the start of the Olympic football tournament, where Israel was drawn into a group with Japan, Mali and Paraguay.
However, FIFA said Thursday that pushed back the schedule because “more time is needed to complete this process with due care and integrity” — meaning a decision is set to come after the Olympics are over.
FIFA said both parties have requested extensions “to present their respective positions” and that the independent assessment will now be shared with FIFA by August 31 at the latest.
The men’s Olympic final is scheduled for August 9.
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