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FOOTBALL

Palestinian meets Fifa chief over Gaza crisis

Fifa chief Sepp Blatter on Tuesday raised the alarm about the spiralling Gaza crisis as he held talks with the head of the Palestinian Football Association.

Palestinian meets Fifa chief over Gaza crisis
FIFA chief Sepp Blatter. Photo: Marcello Casal Jr.

"I am very much concerned with this situation in the region," Blatter said.

"We are heartbroken to learn that people from the football community have been killed," he said.

"Fifa and I personally deplore this situation and any form of violence," Blatter said.
   
"We are united in hoping for peace in this region and across the world," the global game's chief added.
   
PFA president Jibril Rajub met Blatter at Fifa's headquarters in Zurich on the sidelines of a visit to Switzerland to attend a session of the International Olympic Committee.
   
Rajub also heads the Palestinian Olympic Committee.
   
"I appreciate the commitment of the Fifa president to develop and invest in football in Palestine, despite the difficulties we face," Rajub said in a statement.
   
"We believe football should remain a tool to build bridges between people," he said.

"I am very saddened by the loss of Palestinian life in the current conflict but I am still optimistic that peace will prevail."
   
He said his dream was to see the Palestinians achieve an "independent, sovereign state alongside our neighbours, including the State of Israel, according to international legitimacy."
   
In September last year, Fifa brokered a watershed face-to-face meeting between Rajub and his Israel Football Association opposite number Avi Luzon.
   
The goal of the football-themed peace process was to try to end sharply political disputes over Israeli entry restrictions, such as that on players from Arab nations which led to the delay of an international youth tournament hosted by the Palestinians in 2013.
   
The Palestinians also have repeatedly charged that Israeli policies make it hard for players, coaches, referees, officials and equipment to get in and out, smothering the game's development in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
   
Israel meanwhile points to the abuse of football facilities by Palestinian militants to fire rockets at its cities and warns that sport has been used as a tool to disseminate anti-Israeli propaganda.
   
Under the deal, the two associations named liaison officers to try to stem disputes.
   
While the Palestinians lack broad international recognition for their would-be state, their football association joined Fifa in 1998.
   
Israel joined in 1929 when it was still under British control, 19 years before independence.
   
Most Middle East nations are members of the Asian Football Confederation.
   
But politics have made Israel's road rocky in the international game — they played in Asia until 1974, then Oceania, before joining Uefa in 1991.

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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