Jibril Rajoub, the prominent Fatah official who leads the Palestinian Authority’s soccer association, revealed on Friday that his request for a United States visa had not been approved, blocking him from traveling to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, JNS reported.
Although the Palestinian Authority’s national squad did not secure a spot in the tournament, Rajoub told The Associated Press that FIFA routinely extends invitations to soccer federation chiefs globally for the competition.
Deeply critical of the decision, the longtime Fatah figure expressed his frustration to the news outlet.
“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 Fatah official told the news agency.
During the exchange, Rajoub lauded the Russian government, recalling that Moscow instituted zero entry restrictions for invited individuals when it managed the 2018 iteration of the tournament.
The development follows several instances where the Trump administration barred specific tournament delegates from entering the country, with recent restrictions impacting an Iraqi team photographer and a Somali referee.
Addressing the media on June 10, FIFA President Gianni Infantino noted that while soccer's global governing body attempted to iron out these travel complications, it ultimately lacked the power to bypass Washington's immigration policies.
“We need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces," the FIFA head said.
Rajoub, who served a prison sentence in Israel for security-related offenses, regularly incites against Israel, and has in the past said that Jews deserved the genocide inflicted on them by the Nazis.
In October 2011, he delivered a speech at a ceremony honoring the terrorists released by Israel in the Shalit deal, in which he praised Hamas for abducting the soldier and hailed the released prisoners as heroes.
In another incident, he declared that if the PA had a nuclear bomb, it would use it against Israel.
In 2018, Rajoub was suspended for a year from FIFA for inciting hatred and violence, after he called on soccer fans to target the Argentinian Soccer Association and burn jerseys and pictures of Messi when he was scheduled to play a friendly game in Israel.
He appealed the suspension from FIFA, but the appeal was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
In August of 2024, Rajoub said in a TV interview that then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who orchestrated the October 7 massacre, is a “pragmatic, patriotic, and realistic man" and that Israel is attempting to demonize him.
The visa denial follows a highly visible diplomatic standoff on April 30 during the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, where Rajoub pointedly refused to stand next to Basim Sheikh Suliman, the vice president of the Israeli soccer association.