Football Notes: FIFA Votes To Examine Palestinian Complaints Against Israel

Palestinians "scored a symbolic goal in their Middle East conflict" on Friday when FIFA agreed to form a committee "to investigate their grievances against Israel, including the status of football teams from settlements on occupied land." Ninety percent of delegates at the annual congress of world football’s "troubled body" in Zurich "approved the measure, which was proposed by the Palestinians after they withdrew a resolution calling for the expulsion of Israel from the international game" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 5/29). ... The Indonesian government "has accepted responsibility for a ban imposed by FIFA on its national football association over its involvement in the country's domestic league but says it will continue to work to overhaul the competition." FIFA banned Indonesia on Saturday due to the government's "effective takeover" of football activities in the country after it suspended the national league following a dispute over which teams are eligible to compete (REUTERS, 5/31).