The head of the Palestinian Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, has been denied a visa to enter the US, in the latest case of a senior official being barred from attending the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
While the Palestinian national team did not qualify to play in the tournament, Rajoub, who possesses official Fifa accreditation, had planned to travel alongside global football delegates to attend the matches.
He was able to watch the opening match between Mexico and South Africa on Thursday in Mexico City, where he remains now.
He said the visa denial was an unfair and a politically motivated restriction on global football representatives, noting a stark contrast to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which he attended without facing diplomatic obstacles.
"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," he said.
