Palestinian Football Chief Denied US Entry Ahead of World Cup
Jibril Rajoub attended Thursday’s opening match between Mexico and South Africa, but he remains one of several accredited World Cup guests who have either been denied U.S. visas or are still waiting for them.
Ramallah: The man who leads Palestinian football is still stuck in Mexico City, awaiting entry to the United States as World Cup officials from around the globe gather for the 2026 tournament.
Jibril Rajoub attended Thursday’s opening match between Mexico and South Africa, but he remains one of several accredited World Cup guests who have either been denied U.S. visas or are still waiting for them.
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“I don’t believe that it’s fair to use or to abuse and deny the right of all footballers all over the world to attend,” the veteran Palestinian political figure told The Associated Press.
Although the Palestinian team failed to qualify for the World Cup, FIFA traditionally invites the heads of football associations worldwide to the event every four years, presenting it as a showcase of international unity.
“Everyone will be welcome in Canada, Mexico, and the United States for the FIFA World Cup next year. We are working exactly for that,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said last year.
In practice, however, the United States has barred entry to delegates from a range of countries, including a referee from Somalia and a photographer traveling with Iraq’s team.
This week, Infantino said FIFA has been working to clear up the visa problems, but that the organization has no authority to override the U.S. government.
“We need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
The U.S. State Department had no immediate comment on Rajoub’s visa status. Last year, though, it introduced new restrictions on Palestinian passport holders, including anyone who had worked for the Palestinian Authority.
It also revoked the visa of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, preventing him from traveling to the United Nations General Assembly last September.
Rajoub and other Palestinian football officials have long accused Israel of breaching the rules by allowing clubs from settlements in the occupied West Bank to compete in Israel’s national league. They have urged FIFA to punish Israel, while also protesting limits on Palestinian players’ movement and the devastation wrought by the war in the Gaza Strip, where they say 80% of sports facilities have been destroyed.
Last month, Rajoub declined to shake hands with the head of Israel’s football federation at Infantino’s request, saying the gesture would not mend divisions but instead would amount to whitewashing Israel’s actions.
Rajoub also noted that when Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup, it did not impose the kind of visa restrictions now affecting some of the people invited to the tournament.
