Controversy as head of Palestinian football who questioned Israel’s participation in the FIFA World Cup has been BANNED from entering Australia

The head of Palestinian football, who questioned Israel’s participation in the FIFA World Cup, has been banned from entering Australia ahead of his country’s qualifying match against the Socceroos in Perth tonight.

Jibril Rajoub stated that the decision not to grant him a visa was politically motivated.

“I think this is a political decision, this is a shame for those who made such a decision… I should attend the match, I should be with our team,” Rajoub said angrily.

Rajoub – who stated he had previously been to Australia in 2008 and 2015 – believes his third-party visa refusal was a “stupid and foolish decision.”

“There is someone somewhere in the government of Australia who is behaving under the pressure or influence of the Israeli stupid and crazy government,” he said.

The head of Palestinian football has been banned from entering Australia ahead of his country’s qualifier against the Socceroos in Perth on Monday evening (Jibril Rajoub is pictured)

Jibril Rajoub has stated that the decision not to grant him a visa was politically motivated after he had previously been to Australia twice

The Socceroos were in ominous form during World Cup qualifying, scoring 17 goals in five games (Daniel Arzani and Adam Taggart pictured)

“It is not fair to deny me the right to play for our national team.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected Rajoub’s claim and said on Monday that the decision had been made ‘at arm’s length’ by the immigration authorities.

The chairman of the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network, Nasser Mashni, said it was a “real concern”. Rajoub was denied a visa.

“Palestinians, Australian Palestinians and their supporters were looking for a moment to escape the genocide that we’ve seen, to celebrate sport, to celebrate humanity, to see the world game being played here in Australia and quite frankly it’s another kick in the guts,” Mashni said.

“A lot of our community has flown into Perth, flying here from Melbourne and we all come out and enjoy for a moment, maybe a few hours, a reprieve from the genocide.

‘We will come together and celebrate our adopted country Australia, but also our homeland and place of origin Palestine.’

The development comes as Football Australia confirmed they were aware of Rajoub’s situation, but insisted it was a government issue that needed to be addressed.

Kick-off between the Socceroos and Palestine in their World Cup qualifier is at 10:05pm AEST, live on Channel 10.

It is estimated that more than 35,000 people have been killed since Israel declared war on Hamas in Gaza last October.