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Follow Us on TwitterPlatini threatens to annul Israel’s membership of UEFA 24Sep10 September 26, 2010
“Israel must choose between allowing Palestinian sport to continue and prosper or be forced to face the consequences for their behaviour.”
MEMO Middle East Monitor - 24 September 2010
The president of the European Union of Football Associations (UAFA), Michel Platini, has threatened to annul Israel’s membership to the union because of the restrictions it imposes on Palestinian football players.
In a meeting with Jibril al-Rajoub, head of the Palestinian football union, Platini confirmed that Israel’s non-adherence to international sporting regulations will lead to the cancellation of its UEFA membership.
He added; “We accepted them in Europe and furnished them the conditions for membership and they must respect the letter of the laws and international regulations otherwise there is no justification for them to remain in Europe. He continued; “Israel must choose between allowing Palestinian sport to continue and prosper or be forced to face the consequences for their behaviour.”
Platini revealed that he had received a phone call from Joseph S. Blatter, President of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), in which he expressed his strong displeasure with Israeli practices and its restrictions on Palestinian players.
He confirmed that he would put all his weight behind ending the suffering of Palestinian players particularly in football and that he would undertake to convey this to UEFA’s Executive Office during an upcoming meeting on the 1st of October in the capital of Belarus.
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