Palestinian football officials worry Canada won't approve visas in time for FIFA meeting

Media reports published this hebdomad suggested that palestinian arab association football officials were barred from entering Canada forward of the FIFA united states congress slated to take place in Vancouver later this month.

The Guardian reported Thursday that three unnamed officials from the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) "have had applications for visas to enter Canada rejected" ahead of the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on April 30. The annual legislative event allows all 212 member countries to discuss key issues in soccer.

"This is the first time this has happened," Shalabi said. "We hope this will be sorted out soon."

One of the officials whose visa remains in question, according to Shalabi, is PFA President Jibril Rajoub.

PFA General Secretary Firas Abu Hilal was one of the other PFA officials who applied, according to Shalabi. The association's legal counsel, Spanish citizen Gonzalo Boye, later replaced Abu Hilal as a delegate on the application.

In another email, FIFA writes that IRCC had told them that "Mr. Gonzalo has a previous record of which he is aware."

"Unfortunately, due to this matter, his application will not proceed and is expected to be rejected," the FIFA email read. "Please note that this decision is related to his personal history and not connected to the FIFA event."

Boye served eight years in Spanish prison for his involvement with the 1988 kidnapping of a Spanish industrialist carried out by the ETA, a Basque separatist group.

IRCC would not comment on specific applications or decisions. In an emailed statement, it said that "visa applications are considered on a case-by-case basis based on the information presented by the applicant." It said that all clients "are subject to comply with eligibility and admissibility requirements, as part of the process, regardless of their nationality."

"All applicants receive thorough correspondence from IRCC regarding the decision on their application," IRCC said.

The PFA has attended the FIFA Congress every year since 2009. Palestine was included as a full-body member of FIFA in 1998.

According to Shalabi, over 10 countries have not yet received their visas.

This year’s FIFA Congress and World Cup, which includes Canadian host cities Toronto and Vancouver, comes amid PFA's ongoing grievances with Israeli football clubs operating in illegal settlements within Palestinian territories.

Speaking at last year's Congress in Paraguay, Shalabi said FIFA’s inaction on the issue, which has persisted for almost 15 years, amounted to tacit support of the illegal settlements.

"All of this is happening against a background of football fields in Palestine being needlessly destroyed and used as detention camps for Palestinian civilians, including children," she said. "Hundreds of Palestinian players, officials and children of Palestinian football academies — who were part of this football community — have been brutally killed."

"It is the only annual event at which FIFA member associations can feed into global football governance," she said.

The PFA took FIFA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over its decision to continue including Israeli football clubs located in illegal settlements in Palestinian territory of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

"It is supposed to be very concerning for just about anyone in football governance," said Vilarev.

In March, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee levied sanctions on the Israel Football Association relating to offensive behaviour and breaches of the principles of fair play connected to Israeli settlement clubs in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. 

In a statement following the FIFA sanctions, the PFA said the decision did not go far enough to "address the scope and the gravity of the violation." 

The association highlighted the "substantiated evidence of systemic discriminatory conduct, institutional failures to act, and conduct capable of amounting to incitement to genocide" uncovered in the investigative proceedings.

PFA is appealing FIFA's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, according to Vilarev.

Toronto-based immigration lawyer Ravi Jain says that there are many reasons why a visa application can be heavily scrutinized. Factors including the possibility that a visa applicant might file a refugee claim due to geopolitical instability, ties to home country and family connections are all taken into consideration.

The IRCC has a temporary policy in place to facilitate travel and immigration processes for FIFA-invited nationals attending the FIFA Congress and the upcoming men’s World Cup.

But Jain warns that despite the IRCC policy, some applicants may experience difficulty with visa applications and that there is "a high likelihood of denial."

Shalabi, who is currently in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, has a European passport and has secured travel authorization to visit Canada.

She is hopeful the PFA will be able to attend and that the matter will be resolved through official channels.

"This is not good for FIFA or the World Cup," she said. "The PFA board doesn't want Palestine's seat to be empty."

Neither FIFA nor Canada Soccer responded to requests for comment.

Senior Contributor

Shireen Ahmed is a multi-platform sports journalist, a TEDx speaker, mentor, and an award-winning sports activist who focuses on the intersections of racism and misogyny in sports. She is an industry expert on Muslim women in sports, and her academic research and contributions have been widely published. She is co-creator and co-host of the “Burn It All Down” feminist sports podcast team. In addition to being a seasoned investigative reporter, her commentary is featured by media outlets in Canada, the USA, Europe and Australia. She holds an MA in Media Production from Toronto Metropolitan University where she now teaches Sports Journalism and Sports Media. You can find Shireen tweeting or drinking coffee, or tweeting about drinking coffee. She lives with her four children and her cat.

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