Audio By Carbonatix Gianni Infantino’s attempt to orchestrate a photographed handshake between Israeli and Palestinian representatives backfired at the 76th Fifa congress on Thursday night. Fifa president Infantino, who confirmed he intends to stand for re-election for a third term next year, was at the centre of a tense moment in Vancouver of his own creation. During the congress, delegates were invited onto the podium to speak, but only representatives from Israel and Palestine did so. Jibril Rajoub, the president of the Palestine Football Association, spoke first before Basim Sheikh ⁠Suliman, vice-president of the Israel Football Association, followed. At this point, Infantino tried to organise a photo op by asking Suliman to remain on stage and invited Rajoub to return. The Palestinian FA president had no interest in shaking hands or posing for cameras, protesting loudly. After the two men left the stage at the Vancouver Convention Center, Infantino thanked them for addressing the delegates and made an appeal. “President Rajoub, vice-president Suliman, let’s work together. Let’s work together to give hope to the children. Let’s work together for that.” Following the congress, Rajoub questioned whether Israel should even be part of Fifa. “From my side I still respect and follow all the legal procedures through Fifa institutions, but I think it’s time to understand that Israel should be sanctioned because of the violations of the statutes of Fifa, the human rights,” he said. Palestinian FA vice-president Susan Shalabi added: “I cannot shake the hand of someone the Israelis have brought to whitewash their fascism and genocide. We are suffering.” Infantino previously caused controversy by awarding Donald Trump the Fifa Peace Prize. The pair have formed a close relationship, with America co-hosting next month’s World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada. On Thursday night, it was also confirmed that Iran would participate in the tournament despite the ongoing conflict. The Fifa president promised Iran’s involvement in his address, to which Trump responded: “Well, if Gianni said it, I’m OK.” In his address, Infantino also briefly addressed complaints about the costs of tickets for World Cup matches, but his comments were directed at the heads of the member associations and not fans. “We sold 100 per cent of the inventory that we put on the market, which is more or less 90 per cent of the global inventory so far. And of course, we are always putting tickets on the market,” Infantino said. “There are expensive tickets, yes, and there are also affordable tickets. And what is important is that all the revenues that we generate from the world go back to you, go back to the entire world and finance football in all of your countries.” DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited. Tags: FIFA Congress Gianni Infantino Israel FA Palestinian FA DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited. 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