Palestinian president denied visa to enter Australia

The refusal of the Australian authorities to allow entry to the president of the Palestinian Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, marks Tuesday's match between the Australian Socceroos and the Palestinian national team in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

While the country's authorities do not usually give public explanations for their decisions on individual cases, the Palestinian sports leader told Australia's public broadcaster 'ABC' early this morning that it was "a political decision".

"It's a shame for those who made such a decision, I'm president of the Palestinian Association, I should be able to attend the match," Rajoub said, referring to the match being played in the Australian city of Perth.

Rajoub, who is also president of the Palestine Olympic Committee and a political leader, has campaigned for FIFA to suspend Israel indefinitely and disqualify its representatives in the context of the conflict in Gaza between the Israeli army and Hamas.

But Rajoub's visa would not have been refused on the grounds of "character", which does not refer to the risks a person might pose to the tranquillity and security of the Oceanian country, but to technicalities in his application, according to Australian television's Channel 7.

The Australian immigration authorities' decision came despite the fact that Rajoub “has demonstrated links with the Australian Palestinian community, and that he has received support from FIFA in obtaining a visa”, the Australian media added.

For the match, many Palestinians living in Australia have travelled to Perth from around the country to watch their team. The Australian team, ranked 24th in the world, are already through to the next round of qualifying after winning all five of their matches, while the 93rd-ranked Palestine team, despite a 1-0 loss to the Socceroos, are also through.

An eventual victory in Perth is therefore a small joy for Palestine in the midst of the war between Israel and Hamas, which began on 7 October and has killed more than 37,000 people in Gaza, many of them children, and displaced some 1.7 million people.

Palestine, 93rd in the world, have also qualified with a game to spare, with two wins and two draws from five matches so far. "This is what keeps us working on the pitch, because there's really nothing else to work for," Palestinian midfielder Mohammed Rashid told Australian news agency 'AAP'.

 

June 10, 2024