Palestinian soccer chief: ‘I will appeal Messi incitement ban’

RAMALLAH: The head of Palestinian soccer said on Saturday he will appeal FIFA’s year-long ban on him for inciting fans against Argentine superstar Lionel Messi as part of his campaign to stop Argentina’s national team from playing in Israel.
Jibril Rajoub said he was consulting with his lawyers and will “use every possible opportunity” to fight the decision.
He spoke by phone from China and said he was planning a press conference upon his return to Ramallah later this week.
Rajoub’s Palestine Football Association (FA) has lashed out at the decision by international soccer’s ruling body as biased and “absurd.”
FIFA said Rajoub “incited hatred and violence” by calling on soccer fans to target the Argentinian Football Association and burn jerseys and pictures of Barcelona star Messi.
Rajoub had demanded that Messi not take part in the pre-World Cup friendly against Israel scheduled for June 9.
He told a June 3 press conference that Messi “has tens of millions of fans in the Arab and Muslim countries ... we ask everyone to burn their shirts which bear his name and posters (with his image).”
Argentina eventually abandoned the trip to Jerusalem for a game against Israel in June.
Argentina Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said at the time players felt “totally attacked, violated” after images emerged of the team’s white and sky-blue striped jerseys stained with red paint resembling blood.
FIFA imposed the minimum ban allowed in its disciplinary code for inciting hatred or violence.
It prevents Rajoub from attending matches or engaging with the media at or near stadiums on match days for a year.
Rajoub, who is also head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, was fined 20,000 Swiss francs ($20,300).
The punishment marks an embarrassing blow for Rajoub, who has long lobbied FIFA to sanction Israel for what he called its restriction of movement of Palestinian players.
Israel has rejected the Palestinian campaign as an attempt to politicize sports and has cited security concerns as the reason behind the occasional restrictions placed on Palestinian players, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
Rajoub’s organization accused FIFA of bowing to pressure of “interest groups” and Jewish West Bank settlers who sought to punish Rajoub for his comments.
The Palestinian FA said in a statement that the sanction was excessive: “The decision of the disciplinary committee went beyond the alleged offense, it imposed the maximum punishment for an accusation that wasn’t proven.”
It cast doubt on the validity of the complaint lodged by the Israeli FA which it called a “third party that is in active conflict with the Palestinian FA” and said that neither Messi nor the Argentinian FA had acted on the matter.
It added that it respected the ruling but reserved the right to challenge it “in the relevant legal forums.”
The ban will apply for the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE, which kicks off in January, and likely include the start of the 2022 World Cup qualifying program.

Palestinian soccer chief: ‘I will appeal Messi incitement ban’