UK-Israel Lawyers Raise FIFA Concerns on Morocco’s Flag
Morocco’s controversial display of support for Palestinians continues to take media oxygen, in a week where the team returned to their country to a heroes welcome and news emerged that the country was embarking on a strategy of using its success in Qatar to promote itself around the world.
Infamous pro-Israel campaign group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has protested against the waving of the Palestinian flag by the Moroccan football team at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
According to the Jewish Chronicle, the London based charity wrote to FIFA Disciplinary Committee Chair Jorge Palacio accusing the North African country of breaching FIFA rules.
Palacio was asked by UKLFI to open an immediate investigation and that he pronounce interim measures to prevent any repetition of such violations at the semi-final tomorrow and at the final of third place playoff on Saturday.
UKLFI claims that Morocco has breached Article 11.2 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code which says that anyone who uses “a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature” may be subject to disciplinary measures. Morocco was also accused of breaching several other disciplinary codes.
The Palestinian flag has been ubiquitous throughout the tournament in Qatar. The red, white, black and green colours of the Palestinian flag can be seen in stadiums, markets, restaurants and the metro. Arab and African nations playing in the tournament have also raised the Palestinian colours alongside their national flag.
MEMO
