FIFA meeting at Thailand urged to expel Israel by former Australian Socceroo Craig Foster
Former Socceroo Craig Foster’s push to try to isolate and expel Israel from international football has drawn a stern rebuke from concerned Australians.
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Politicians and Jewish groups have condemned human rights activist and former Socceroo Craig Foster’s attempt to get Australia to vote to expel Israel from international football, saying sport should not be “weaponised to stoke division”.
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is meeting in Thailand on Friday (May 17) and the Palestinian Football Association has petitioned it to remove Israel, effectively booting them from the World Cup.
Mr Foster has publicly backed the call, urging Australian football fans to write to Football Australia to suspend Israel.
“I support them,” he said. “And call on the football community to do likewise.”
NSW Liberal Senator Dave Sharma said Football Australia should oppose attempts to “insert FIFA into a complex international issue”.
“Football Australia should resist succumbing to loud and ill-informed voices in this debate,” Mr Sharma said. “I note that those seeking to weaponise sport in this way do so very selectively — with a focus on Israel but not on the human rights records of any other FIFA members.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said after the government of Gaza invaded Israel and “committed war crimes of a scale and barbarity that shocked the world, Foster made no call for Palestine’s suspension from FIFA”.
“Foster’s legal arguments about the International Court of Justice and the claim of genocide are plainly wrong and his assertions about universal human rights are manipulative and misleading,” Mr Ryvchin said.
He’s written to the Football Australia chairman Anter Isaac asking them to remain “politically neutral” and saying sport “ought not be weaponised to stoke division”.
In response, Mr Foster said FIFA had a human rights policy that “obligates it to use all possible leverage to promote and protect human rights and, genocide being the worst”.
Football Federation Australia has not revealed what way it will vote, but it has been reported that the organisation was “leaning towards abstaining”.
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Originally published as FIFA meeting at Thailand urged to expel Israel by former Australian Socceroo Craig Foster
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