FIFA has banned the President of Palestinian Football Association, PFA, Jibril Rajoub, from attending matches for one year.
He was found guilty of a campaign of hatred and violence against Lionel Messi.
Apart from the ban, Rajoub was also issued with a fine of CHF20,000 (£16,000/$20,000/€17,500) by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee.
Rajoub who is also the president of the Palestine Olympic Committee, called on fans to burn pictures and shirts depicting the Messi if he played in a friendly match against Israel in Jerusalem earlier in the year.
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The controversy caused as a result of the campaign led to the cancellation of the friendly match.
The PFA has since reacted, describing the sanction as “disproportionate, absurd and lacking in evidence.”
It argued that the action was a plan to prevent Rajoub’s participation in football activities for a long time.
With the sanction, Jibril Rajoub would “not be able to attend football matches or competitions in any official capacity, which includes, among others, participating in media activities at stadiums or in their vicinity on match days.”
