The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), world soccer’s governing body, responded to our recent communiqué criticizing them and AP coverage of an Israeli missile strike on a Gaza soccer pitch. Many readers who wrote to FIFA received a response that only muddies the water further.
FIFA writes:
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your message.
First of all, we would like to stress the fact that FIFA strongly opposes any kind of violence, as well aa any incidents of racism and discrimination or of violation of human rights. Secondly, we have to recall that FIFA is a non-political organisation and that its role is that of acting as the world football governing body. Regarding the various articles that recently have been published about FIFA’s position in relation to the bombardment of the Palestine Stadium in Gaza, kindly read first the following links:
http://www.fifa.com/en/media/index/0,1369,116737,00.html
http://www.israel-football.org.il/articles/index.asp?story=853
We have to stress that at no moment has FIFA condemned either Israeli or Palestinian authorities for the incidents that have taken place. The Delegate of the FIFA President for special affairs, Jérôme Champagne, informally contacted the Israeli Ambassador to Switzerland via e-mail (there was never any official letter) in order to ask what had happened and why the stadium had been targeted. Through the media, FIFA learned that an Israeli Army spokesman had admitted that the strike on the stadium was intended to give a signal to the Palestinians and that no Qassam rockets had been launched from the stadium.
Mr Champagne also mentioned to various media that the FIFA President would study what action to take with regards to the damage of the Palestine Stadium in Gaza. The only action discussed was whether FIFA would pay for the rehabilitation of the stadium. At no point were there any discussions regarding any sanctions to be imposed on anyone, as you can see in the article published by the Israel FA. FIFA has also not condemned the Israeli or Palestinian authorities for any incidents, as this is not the role of FIFA. Mr Champagne only mentioned that FIFA was “not happy” that a football pitch had been targeted, as football should serve as a tool to unite people, not to divide them.
FIFA never banned Israeli teams from playing at home for any of the competitions organised by FIFA, and did everything in its power to ensure the right of Israel to play at home. What is more, the FIFA President already stated in a visit to the Israel FA in June 2003 (at a time when in competitions not organised by FIFA, Israeli clubs and national team had been banned from playing at home) that FIFA would make sure that Israel could play in Tel Aviv the qualifying matches for the 2006 FIFA World Cup (preliminary matches started in 2004), .
Furthermore, any accusations of racism or discrimination on the part of FIFA are completely unfounded. FIFA has a long-lasting record in the fight against racism and discrimination in football, as you can see in the following section on FIFA.com:
http://www.fifa.com/en/fairplay/fairplay/0,1256,1,00.html.
Recently (16 March 2006), the FIFA Executive Committee approved more severe sanctions to be imposed in cases of racism and discrimination, which you can read about in the following link:
http://www.fifa.com/en/media/index/0,1369,116245,00.html.
Regretably, some journalists have not been precise when writing about FIFA’s position on this matter, and what is worse, they have in several cases not bothered to check the information or contact FIFA to ask any questions they had. In this way, they are doing a diservice to their fellow journalists and, moreover, to the general public.
We trust that these facts will allow you to have a more accurate view.
Best regards,
FIFA Communications
It is possible that AP’s coverage didn’t convey the soccer organization’s views clearly enough. But FIFA’s letter also obfuscates, omitting two crucial pieces of information.
1) Although Mr. Champagne, FIFA’s number two official, told the Jerusalem Post he was “not happy” that the Gaza football pitch was targeted, that’s not all he said. The same article also quotes Champagne saying:
When asked about the threat of Kassams, Champagne, a French national, said, “The Gaza Strip was occupied since 1967. [France was] occupied by Germany three times in the last 100 years. Do you think we could just kiss and make up after six months?”
“No part of Israel is occupied by the Palestinian people. It is not right to occupy a people,” he added.
2) And The Guardian writes that FIFA reported Israel’s missile strike to the UN.
Champagne’s remarks are all on the record, in his official capacity. He explained away Kassam rocket attacks and reported Israel to the UN. How “non-political” is that?
