Pro-Palestinian protesters invaded the annual FIFA congress in Zurich Friday morning, waved Palestinian flags and demanded the ouster of Israel from the soccer organization before security guards ejected them.
The noisy demonstrators interrupted the inaugural speech of FIFA president Sepp Blatter while shouting, “Israel out. Free football. Free Palestine.”
Outside the hall, more than 100 others demonstrated, but some of them managed to slip past security guards and enter the meeting hall. After Blatter called for the security guards to stop the disturbance, he asked them to be to be more alert.
Or perhaps one needs to pay them to keep out the protester, who perhaps paid the guards to let them in.
Money is the way FIFA works. Nine of its officials and former officials have been arrested for large-scale charges of bribery and fraud following an investigation by federal officials in the United States.
But the more urgent matter in FIFA today is not the scandal and not the election of the next president, either Blatter or a Jordanian rival.
FIFA officials around the world are to vote later today on whether to accept its Palestinian Authority affiliate’s demand to expel Israel because of the PA claim that Jews are living on their land. One PA official said it could accept a compromise whereby Israel would eject five teams playing in Judea and Samaria. They include Ma’aleh Adumim where Arabs never have lived and which now is the home to more than 40,000 Jews.
The other teams are from Ariel, where and Arabs and Jews study at the Ariel University, the Jordan Valley, Givat Ze’ev, located near Jerusalem, and Kiryat Arba, adjacent to Hebron.
“No compromise is possible on the settlement teams continued playing in Israel’s league,” one Palestinian Authority delegate told the London Guardian.
There is a difference of opinion on how many votes are needed to defeat the Palestinian Authority demand to oust Israel. PA delegates question the widely-reported interpretation that a 75 percent vote is needed.
The voting this afternoon will be by secret ballot.
Bribes also will be kept secret.