How can I shake hands with a man representing a criminal?
On the stage of the FIFA Congress, a gesture as small as a handshake became a mirror for one of the world's most enduring conflicts. Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub refused to extend his hand to an Israeli football official, resisting FIFA President Infantino's appeal for unity and insisting that sport cannot be laundered of its political weight when the politics involve what he calls systematic suffering. The moment was brief, but it posed a question that no governing body has yet answered: whether the rituals of reconciliation can hold meaning when the underlying wound remains open.
- A carefully staged moment of symbolic unity at the FIFA Congress collapsed in real time when Rajoub stood still rather than step forward for a handshake.
- The refusal reignited the unresolved tension over whether Israel should face suspension from international football — a campaign the Palestinian FA has pressed for months.
- Rajoub rejected the premise that sport and politics can be separated here, arguing that standing beside a representative of the Israeli government would betray his conscience and his people.
- The Israeli official had just finished an appeal to shared values and cooperation, making the public rebuff all the more stark and the divide all the more visible.
- FIFA and Infantino find themselves caught between calls for principled sanction and their own October decision not to suspend Israel, leaving the institution's authority on the matter in question.
- The incident signals that diplomatic overtures and governing body rulings have done little to shift the ground-level resistance to normalization among Palestinian representatives.
The FIFA Congress had been arranged, at least in part, as a moment of bridge-building. President Gianni Infantino invited both Jibril Rajoub of the Palestinian Football Association and Basim Sheikh Suliman of the Israeli Football Association to stand together on stage. What followed instead was a quiet but unmistakable refusal — Rajoub would not move closer, would not extend his hand, would not allow the photograph that might have suggested progress.
Rajoub's reasoning was direct. He has long argued that Israel should be suspended from international competition, and he framed his refusal as a matter of conscience rather than protocol. He acknowledged that sport should ideally remain separate from politics, but argued that this conflict makes such separation impossible. Invoking Prime Minister Netanyahu by nickname, he questioned how he could stand beside someone representing that leadership as though nothing were wrong. He also suggested that Infantino, however well-intentioned, may not fully grasp the depth of Palestinian grievance.
Suliman, who had spoken just before the confrontation, offered a contrasting tone — one of conciliation, emphasizing football's power to teach children respect and equality, and extending what he called an open hand to the Palestinian side.
The confrontation arrives against a contested recent history. UEFA had moved toward suspending Israel last September before the effort was halted. Infantino announced in October that FIFA would take no action against the Israeli team, a decision tied in part to a peace proposal involving Trump and Netanyahu. Yet Israeli sports teams have continued to face opposition in various international contexts.
Rajoub's refusal makes plain that formal decisions and diplomatic gestures carry little weight for those who see the core conflict as unresolved. The handshake that never happened left a question suspended in the air between two officials who would not share the same space — whether the language of sport can speak across a divide this wide.
The stage at the FIFA Congress was set for a moment of reconciliation. Jibril Rajoub, president of the Palestinian Football Association, and Basim Sheikh Suliman, vice president of the Israeli Football Association, had both been invited to stand together as FIFA President Gianni Infantino attempted to bridge a divide that extends far beyond the pitch. It was Thursday, and the moment was meant to signal unity. Instead, it became a public refusal.
Rajoub would not step forward. When Infantino placed a hand on his arm and gestured for him to move closer to Suliman, the Palestinian official remained still. There would be no handshake, no photograph, no gesture of shared purpose. The exchange lasted only moments, but it crystallized a conflict that has simmered through international sports governance for months.
Rajoub's position has been consistent: Israel should be suspended from international soccer competitions. The Palestinian Football Association has long advocated for this sanction, framing it as a response to what Rajoub describes as the suffering of the Palestinian people. When asked to explain his refusal, he did not equivocate. He acknowledged that he respects formal legal procedures, but he argued that the time for stronger measures had arrived. "I think it's time to understand that Israel should be sanctioned," he said. "The double-standard policy should stop."
His language grew sharper when he addressed the broader context. Rajoub rejected the notion that sport could be cleanly separated from politics in this case. He pointed to the Israeli leadership, invoking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by nickname, and suggested that standing beside an official representing that government was incompatible with his conscience. "Sport is sport," he said, "but if the other side is representing a criminal like Bibi and speaking on behalf of Bibi as if Bibi is Mother Teresa, how can I shake hands or have a photo with such a man?" He also suggested that Infantino, whatever his intentions, might not fully comprehend the depth of Palestinian grievance.
Suliman had spoken moments before the confrontation, offering a different vision. He emphasized that football transcends politics, that every person has the right to play and compete. He spoke of teaching children respect, equality, and love for others. He extended what he called a hand to the Palestinian FA, framed as an appeal to shared values. His tone was conciliatory, his message one of hope that circumstances might improve by the next meeting.
Infantino, after the exchange, attempted to reset the moment. He acknowledged both men by title and called for cooperation, framing the issues at hand as complex but surmountable. His role was to urge them forward together, to suggest that working in concert could benefit children and communities. It was a plea for pragmatism in the face of principle.
The backdrop to this confrontation is recent but contested. In September, UEFA had moved toward a vote to suspend Israel over the war in Gaza, but the motion was halted. By early October, Infantino announced that FIFA would take no action against the Israeli team, a decision that came after a peace proposal involving President Donald Trump and Netanyahu. Yet even with that diplomatic overture, Israeli sports teams have continued to face opposition and exclusion in various contexts.
Rajoub's refusal suggests that formal peace proposals and FIFA decisions carry limited weight for those who view the underlying conflict as unresolved. The handshake that did not happen speaks to a deeper question: whether sports can or should remain separate from politics when the politics involve what one side characterizes as systematic suffering. For now, that question remains unanswered, hanging in the space between two officials who would not stand together.
Citações Notáveis
I think it's time to understand that Israel should be sanctioned. The double-standard policy should stop.— Jibril Rajoub, Palestinian Football Association president
In football, there is no place for politics. Everyone has the right to play and compete.— Basim Sheikh Suliman, Israeli Football Association vice president
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did Rajoub refuse the handshake? Was it purely symbolic, or does it signal something larger about Palestinian strategy?
It's both. The refusal itself is symbolic—a very public statement on the world stage. But it reflects a real strategic position: the Palestinian FA believes Israel should face consequences through sports sanctions, not reconciliation. For Rajoub, shaking hands would undermine that argument.
Infantino seemed to be trying to broker peace. Why not accept that gesture, even if you disagree?
Because accepting it would legitimize the status quo. Rajoub sees the handshake as normalizing a relationship he believes shouldn't exist until certain conditions are met. He's saying: I respect the process, but the process itself is insufficient.
Suliman talked about keeping politics out of sport. Is that even possible?
That's the central tension. Suliman is right that sport has its own values—competition, fairness, shared humanity. But Rajoub is arguing that when one side's government is involved in what he calls crimes, you can't simply bracket that away. Sport doesn't exist in a vacuum.
What does this moment change, practically speaking?
Probably very little in the short term. FIFA already decided not to suspend Israel. But it signals that Palestinian resistance to normalization is real and public. It tells the world that some actors won't be moved by diplomatic gestures alone.
Do you think Infantino understood what Rajoub was trying to communicate?
Rajoub explicitly said he doesn't think Infantino grasps the depth of Palestinian suffering. Whether that's fair or not, it points to a gap: Infantino sees a conflict to be managed; Rajoub sees an injustice to be addressed. Those are different frameworks.