FIFA APPLIES DOUBLE STANDARDS ON ISRAEL

Fadli Zon

The International Football Federation (FIFA) on Wednesday, 29 March 2023, officially announced the cancellation of Indonesia as the host for the 2023 U20 World Cup. In its written statement, FIFA stated that this cancellation was due to the "current situation" developing in Indonesia. The "current situation" that FIFA referred to here was not clear and seemed to have glossed over its intended meaning. Nevertheless, one may presume that the current situations here could be related to the rejection by various groups of the planned arrival of the Israel's U20 national team to Indonesia.

As a world football organization, FIFA should be able to accommodate the interests of all countries, and to a certain extent acknowledging that for some countries, especially Muslim majority countries, when it comes to Israel, the issue goes beyond just a sporting matter. It is a serious political and humanitarian issue. Thus, FIFA cannot see its regulations as being higher than the rule of law or the constitution of a country. Defending the interests of Israel, while overlooking the interests of other countries with strong political stance against Israel, indicates that FIFA has a double standard in the politics of football.

It is unfortunate to say that FIFA has thus far applied a double standard in football. There are at least two reasons why we think this is the case.

First of all, FIFA has been inconsistent with the ban on the politicization of football. When FIFA and UEFA imposed sanctions prohibiting the Russian national team and clubs from participating in all competitions under FIFA and UEFA, and prohibiting Belarusian clubs and national teams from playing matches at home as a sanction for their support of Russia in the Ukraine war, was that not a political ban?

When FIFA expressed its strong opposition of Russia's attack on Ukraine, but turned a blind eye to Israeli colonialism and apartheid against the Palestinian people, is this stance not political at all?

To be fair, since when was football ever truly free of politics? Politics is clearly part of FIFA and its discriminatory politics could not be any more obvious.

Like it or not, football can never be truly separated from politics. This sport, which gathers millions of people and billions of spectators, can indeed become a strategic political stage. This is why the rule that says that politics must be kept out of the sport is an unreasonable one. Not especially when even FIFA itself could not obey such rule.

Secondly, FIFA demands that all countries treat Israeli athletes fairly, while Israel has never given the Palestinian athletes or sports fair treatments. While there may only be few coverage by international 'mainstream' media, it is no secret that the Israeli military has long made sports and Palestinian athletes the target of their attacks.

In November 2006, for example, the Israeli military prevented all Palestinian football athletes from participating in the final match of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) qualifying group. Another action many of us may still remember was when Israel did not allow Palestinian team players and officials to participate in the 2010 World Cup qualifying match against Singapore.

Israel's despicable action in 2007 obviously destroyed the Palestine national team's chance of qualifying in the World Cup. Unfortunately, instead of defending the Palestinian athletes and condemning Israel, FIFA decided to give Singapore an automatic 3-0 victory. This is despite the fact that, in the last qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup, the Palestinian national team successfully won against Singapore with a blowout of 4-0.

Moreover, Palestinian stadiums have been the target of frequent bombing during Israel's brutal war on Gaza. This is the reason why for many years the Palestinian national team has only been able to hold home matches in Jordan or Qatar. It is also worth noting that their training camp is located far away from the stadiums in Ismailia, Egypt.

The Israeli army's deadly attacks not only target sports facilities, but also Palestinian athletes. In January 2009, three Palestinian footballers, Ayman Alkurd, Shadi Sbakhe, and Wajeh Moshtaha, were killed by an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip. Two months later, Saji Darwish, an 18-year-old youth player, was killed by an Israeli sniper near Ramallah.

In July of the same year, Mahmoud Sarsak, a Palestinian national team player, was arrested and tortured by the Israeli military for three years. Although he was eventually released, permanent health problems resulting from the torture he suffered while in Israeli custody have officially killed his sporting career.

The arrest, torture, and killing of Palestinian footballers have made regular headlines in Palestine. The Israeli military has deliberately shot young Palestinian players in the legs on various occasions, especially when they were crossing military checkpoints.

In 2019, the Israeli military attacked the Al Khader Stadium in Bethlehem with tear gas, which is comparable to last year's Kanjuruhan Tragedy in Malang, Indonesia. Most recently, on 22 December 2022, the Israeli army shot dead Ahmad Atef Daraghma, a footballer from the Thaqafi club, and injured 24 other people, in a brutal attack in the city of Nablus, West Bank.

All things considered, it is highly irrelevant for FIFA to defend Israeli athletes under the pretext of "fair play". The Israeli athletes should be held morally responsible for the brutal and unfair actions committed by their government against the Palestinian athletes and sports.

These two reasons are enough to show that so far FIFA has been unfair and applied double standards in football "policy".

Indonesia's removal as the host of the 2023 U-20 World Cup may temporarily be detrimental to the country's history of hosting football events. However, the removal should not be seen as something that caused Indonesia as a nation to lose face.

If we had to accept the arrival of Israeli athletes, we would actually be placing our constitution and foreign policy below the FIFA rules. Throughout the history of this nation, we have hosted numerous international sporting events and not once did we ever lose our principles and degrade our moral beliefs.

Let us not forget that Indonesia is the first country in the world to have boycotted Israel's participation in sporting events. As the host of the 1962 Asian Games IV, we once refused the Israeli delegation. While the decision had caused us a suspension from the IOC (International Olympic Committee), the precedent received official support from the AGF (Asian Games Federation). Ahead of the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok, AGF officially sanctioned and boycotted the Israeli delegation for security reasons.

In 1981, AGF went so far as to even expel Israel from the OCA (Olympic Council of Asia). Then, in 1983, it was the turn of the IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation) to support Israel's expulsion from the Asian Games. Having said that, if we open ourselves up to the Israeli team, that would be a big setback.

Israel has used sports, including football, as a diplomatic tool to write off discriminatory practices, human rights violations, and war crimes they have committed against the Palestinian people. So, if Israeli athletes are accepted into Indonesia, which is the largest Muslim country in the world, this will be a diplomatic victory for them, as well as a big loss for us.

Since 1948, Israel has carried out massive and cruel land grabs against Palestinians. The dispossession, displacement, and slaughter of Palestinians in their own homes is an important pillar of Israel's apartheid government. It is a form of crime against humanity.

In 2022, Amnesty International said that the Israeli authorities must be held accountable for committing apartheid crimes against Palestinians. Amnesty International's investigation has detailed how Israel enforces repression against the Palestinian people. The 182-page report entitled “Israel's Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity” describes the politics of land and property appropriation on a large scale, as well as extrajudicial killings carried out by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people.

Based on these findings, Amnesty International has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider this apartheid crime and called on all countries to exercise universal jurisdiction to bring the perpetrators of apartheid crimes to justice.

For Indonesia, the issue of entry permits for Israeli football players is not just a matter of sport, but a matter of principle. The lack of alternate solution acceptable to FIFA that led to Indonesia's removal as the host of 2023 U-20 World Cup shows that the football organization is still not free from double standards. FIFA only defends Israel's interests but ignores the stance and opinions of other countries regarding the colonial country.

Jakarta, 30 March 2023

Fazli Zon: Member of Commission I DPR RI (Indonesian Parliament), Deputy Chair of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party Central Board, Vice President of the the League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds