The recent Israeli airstrike in eastern Jahan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, has left many dead, including Palestinian footballer Imad Abu Tima, only 21 years old. The player was with nine other members of his family when they were surprised.
The footballer was part of Ittihad Khan Younis and was also called on several occasions to represent the national under-20 team of Palestine in 2021.
Abu Tima is already one of the more than 400 Palestinian athletes killed during the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestine National Olympic Committee.
This tragic news comes in the middle of FIFA’s implementation of a measure to ban Israel from competing. However, international football’s governing body has already repeatedly delayed the vote about it.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will have the mandate to initiate an investigation into the alleged crime of discrimination raised by the Palestinian Football Association“, the organization stated just two weeks ago.
In addition, he also made it clear that he will investigate “the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli soccer teams supposedly based in Palestinian territory“.
