Palestine chief banned from football for inciting violence towards Messi
Jibril Rajoub has been handed a 12-month suspension from all football activity
FIFA's Disciplinary Committee confirmed on Friday that they have suspended the president of the Palestine Football Association for one year and fined him 20,000 CHF for inciting violence against Lionel Messi.
The ban relates to comments made by Jibril Rajoub before Argentina were due to play Israel at the beginning of June in a World Cup warm-up -- the game was later postponed due to political pressure.
Rajoub called for supporters to burn shirts and photographs of Messi, according to FIFA's official statement.
Full FIFA statement:
"The Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the President of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), Jibril Rajoub, with a 12-month match suspension and a fine of CHF 20,000 for breaching article 53 (Inciting hatred and violence) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, following media statements he gave calling on football fans to target the Argentinian Football Association and burn jerseys and pictures of Lionel Messi.
"These statements were made ahead of a friendly match scheduled for 9 June 2018 in Jerusalem between Israel and Argentina. The match was later cancelled. The Disciplinary Committee held that Mr Rajoub’s statements incited hatred and violence, and consequently imposed the above-mentioned sanctions.
"The 12-month match suspension imposed on Mr Rajoub entails a ban on taking part in any future match or competition taking place during the given period. Consequently, Mr Rajoub will not be able to attend football matches or competitions in any official capacity, which includes, among others, participating in media activities at stadiums or in their vicinity on matchdays.
"The 12-month match suspension becomes effective today, when the grounds of the decision have been notified."
