Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s attempt to orchestrate a handshake between Palestinian and Israeli football officials backfired at the governing body’s congress in Vancouver. The Palestinian FA president, Jibril Rajoub, refused to stand alongside the Israel FA’s vice-president, Basim Sheikh Suliman, after both were called to the stage by Infantino.
Sources in the congress hall suggested Infantino had wanted to stage a photoshoot before announcing his candidacy for re-election. The awkward moment came towards the end of the 76th Fifa congress, with several attendees noting the palpable embarrassment.
Infantino shrugged off the incident to announce he will seek re-election next year. The election will take place at the Fifa congress in Rabat, Morocco, and he is unlikely to face opposition. Infantino was first elected in 2016 as a reform candidate to replace Sepp Blatter.
After Rajoub declined to shake hands, Infantino returned to the stage and said: “We will work together, President Rajoub, Vice-president Suliman. Let’s work together to give hope to the children. These are complex matters.”
The Palestinian FA’s vice-president, Susan Shalabi, told Reuters that Rajoub refused because he could not shake the hand of someone brought by Israelis “to whitewash their fascism and genocide”. Infantino, who created the Fifa peace prize last year and awarded it to Donald Trump, has increasingly portrayed himself as an international statesman.
