Israeli-Palestinian conflict spreads to FIFA Congress

The 65th FIFA Congress, which opened here on Friday, witnessed an unusual incident when a Palestinian delegate rose from his seat and made a scene in front of the assembly.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter immediately called security, and demanded that all members must abide by Congress rules, and that security controls over the entry of delegates be strengthened, reports Efe.

The Palestine football association previously planned to propose a vote during Friday's meeting on the possible suspension of its Israeli counterpart, as the latter has refused to ban five teams that hail from illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and play in the Israeli Premier League.

This sensitive issue will be discussed in section 10 of the congressional agenda, dedicated to "strategic and sports-political matters".

The Palestinian request was supported by small protests in front of Zurich's Hallenstadion, where the Congress is being held.

Demonstrators waited for the confederation member buses, which arrived on Friday morning with representatives from the 209 national associations that are entitled to participate and vote in the Congress.

The Israeli delegation maintained contacts with numerous delegations in the hours running up to the meeting in an attempt to prevent a vote on the Palestinian proposal.

The 65th FIFA Congress is also scheduled to elect a new president for the organisation, and thus ballots will be cast for either incumbent president Blatter, who seeks his fifth term, or Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan.