Jibril Rajoub, president of the Palestinian Football Association, has been shut out of the United States and Canada. The veteran sports administrator discovered that his visa applications were rejected just as the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off across North America.
Rajoub had traveled to Mexico City to watch the opening fixture between Mexico and South Africa. He told AFP on Saturday that he would head back to the Palestinian territories after Tunisia faced Sweden on June 14, unable to cross into the other two host nations.
The tournament, jointly staged by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, is supposed to be a festival of global unity. FIFA traditionally invites the leaders of its member associations to attend, even when their national teams fail to qualify for the competition itself.
Visa Denials Hit Multiple Nations
Rajoub revealed that he submitted his American visa application in Amman, the Jordanian capital, and received a flat refusal.
“They did not grant me a visa for the United States after I applied in [the Jordanian capital] Amman. Their behavior is ridiculous,”
He added that Canadian authorities had turned him down as well, leaving him stranded in Mexico while other delegates moved freely between host countries.
The Palestinian football chief pointed to political interference as the root cause of his exclusion. He claimed that Israeli pressure had shaped the decisions of American and Canadian immigration officials.
“the Israelis had exerted pressure”
Rajoub also suggested that his vocal stance against Israel had made him a target, noting that powerful actors wanted to silence criticism of Israeli policies.
“Certain circles do not want us to criticize Israel.”
He has long pushed FIFA to take punitive action against Israel, arguing that settlement clubs operating in the occupied West Bank breach football statutes. He has repeatedly highlighted how Israeli restrictions cripple the movement of Palestinian players, preventing training camps and competitive fixtures from proceeding normally.
FIFA Powerless Against Government Borders
FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed the growing crisis earlier in the week. He acknowledged that the global governing body was working to untangle visa problems for accredited officials and staff.
Infantino made clear, however, that his organization faced hard limits when sovereign states closed their doors.
“rule over governments and police forces.”
The remarks exposed the tension between FIFA’s rhetoric of inclusivity and the reality of national immigration controls that operate beyond its reach.
Infantino’s admission has done little to calm anger among football associations from the Global South, who see the visa wall as a direct affront to the sport’s supposed universal spirit.
African And Middle Eastern Officials Caught In The Net
The Palestinian case is not an isolated incident. Omar Abdulkadir Artan, poised to become the first Somali referee in World Cup history, was blocked from entering the United States despite holding what was described as complete and valid paperwork.
An Iraqi photographer accompanying his national squad was also turned away at the border. Fifteen Iranian officials and support staff were reportedly denied visas altogether, forcing the entire delegation to remain in Mexico rather than travel to matches in the US or Canada.
Fans from Senegal and Ivory Coast have encountered similar obstacles, with supporters reporting lengthy interrogations and unexplained refusals at ports of entry.
Last year, Washington introduced sweeping travel restrictions targeting citizens from Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Iran. Those measures also ensnared Palestinian passport holders, including civil servants who worked for the Palestinian Authority.
The pattern has left many African and Middle Eastern football figures questioning whether the World Cup truly belongs to the world, or merely to those nations whose passports carry favored status at American and Canadian immigration desks.
Rajoub’s exclusion has intensified calls for FIFA to demand guarantees from host nations before future tournaments are awarded. Critics argue that a competition marketed as a celebration of humanity cannot function when delegations from entire regions are treated as security threats by default.
The Palestinian football president now watches from Mexico City as the tournament unfolds without him, his presence reduced to a single match while peers from European and South American associations move between all three host countries without friction.
For Rajoub, the visa denials represent more than a logistical headache. They mark another chapter in a long struggle to keep Palestinian football visible on the international stage, even as political barriers continue to rise around it.