FIFA said it would take no action against Israeli football clubs accused by the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) of competing while allegedly based on Palestinian territory, and on Thursday separately sanctioned the Israel Football Association (IFA) for violations of its anti-discrimination and fair-play rules.
The decisions followed a FIFA Council meeting that discussed two issues arising from a proposal submitted by the PFA at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok in May 2024.
On the issue of Israeli clubs based in settlements in the occupied West Bank, the Council adopted conclusions of FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC), which had been asked to investigate whether such clubs should be allowed to play in competitions organized by the IFA.
FIFA said no action should be taken, citing the West Bank’s unresolved legal status under public international law.
“FIFA should take no action given that, in the context of the interpretation of the relevant provisions of the FIFA Statutes, the final legal status of the West Bank remains an unresolved and “highly complex issue under public international law,” the governing body said in a statement.
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The participation of clubs from Israeli settlements has been a recurring source of tension within FIFA for almost a decade. The PFA has long argued that clubs based in settlements in the West Bank – territory the Palestinians seek as part of a future state – should not be allowed to compete in the IFA competitions.
In a separate disciplinary decision issued late Thursday, FIFA punished the IFA for what it described as systematic violations of its anti-discrimination and fair-play statutes, following an investigation into the association’s handling of racism in Israeli football.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee said the IFA had failed to take adequate action against persistent racist behavior by supporters of certain clubs, particularly Beitar Jerusalem, and had failed to adequately respond to inflammatory and politicized public statements by football officials and clubs under its jurisdiction.
As part of the sanctions, the IFA was fined 150,000 Swiss francs ($190,621) and ordered to implement a mandatory prevention plan to combat discrimination, including information campaigns and monitoring measures. The association must also display anti-discrimination banners at the next three home matches of the FIFA A-level competition.
Published on March 20, 2026
