Media reports published this week suggested that Palestinian soccer officials were barred from entering Canada ahead of the FIFA Congress slated to take place in Vancouver later this month.
But CBC News has learned that while emails from FIFA suggest Palestinian officials may be experiencing hurdles in the visa approval process, it appears that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has yet to issue final visa decisions.
The Guardian reported Thursday that three unnamed officials from the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) "have had applications for visas to enter Canada rejected" ahead of the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on April 30. The annual legislative event allows all 212 member countries to discuss key issues in soccer.
Asked about the claims that PFA officials had visa application denied, PFA Vice-President Susan Shalabi told CBC in a statement that the news had come from FIFA, who said they were "passing on info they say they got from IRCC."
"This is the first time this has happened," Shalabi said. "We hope this will be sorted out soon."
Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestinian Football Association, speaks during a media conference in the West Bank town of Ramallah in September 2018. (Majdi Mohammed/The Associated Press)FIFA email said application 'flagged'One of the officials whose visa remains in question, according to Shalabi, is PFA President Jibril Rajoub.
In an email from the FIFA travel department viewed by CBC, a FIFA staffer writes that Rajoub's case has been "flagged" and the international soccer organization is "waiting for the final decision from IRCC."
PFA General Secretary Firas Abu Hilal was one of the other PFA officials who applied, according to Shalabi. The association's legal counsel, Spanish citizen Gonzalo Boye, later replaced Abu Hilal as a delegate on the application.
In another email, FIFA writes that IRCC had told them that "Mr. Gonzalo has a previous record of which he is aware."
"Unfortunately, due to this matter, his application will not proceed and is expected to be rejected," the FIFA email read. "Please note that this decision is related to his personal history and not connected to the FIFA event."
Boye served eight years in Spanish prison for his involvement with the 1988 kidnapping of a Spanish industrialist carried out by the ETA, a Basque separatist group.
IRCC would not comment on specific applications or decisions. In an emailed statement, it said that "visa applications are considered on a case-by-case basis based on the information presented by the applicant." It said that all clients "are subject to comply with eligibility and admissibility requirements, as part of the process, regardless of their nationality."
"All applicants receive thorough correspondence from IRCC regarding the decision on their application," IRCC said.
The PFA has attended the FIFA Congress every year since 2009. Palestine was included as a full-body member of FIFA in 1998.
In response to similar rumours about barriers to its attendance, the Lebanese Football Association told CBC that all of its delegates "have been granted visas, and the delegation will travel as scheduled to attend the FIFA Congress."
According to Shalabi, over 10 countries have not yet received their visas.
PFA attendance key: sports law expertThis year’s FIFA Congress and World Cup, which includes Canadian host cities Toronto and Vancouver, comes amid PFA's ongoing grievances with Israeli football clubs operating in illegal settlements within Palestinian territories.
Speaking at last year's Congress in Paraguay, Shalabi said FIFA’s inaction on the issue, which has persisted for almost 15 years, amounted to tacit support of the illegal settlements.
"All of this is happening against a background of football fields in Palestine being needlessly destroyed and used as detention camps for Palestinian civilians, including children," she said. "Hundreds of Palestinian players, officials and children of Palestinian football academies — who were part of this football community — have been brutally killed."
Delegates from dozens of soccer associations worldwide attend FIFA's 75th Congress at the Conmebol Convention Center in Luque, Paraguay, in May 2025. (Fernando Calistro/The Associated Press)Kat Vilarev, a sports law expert familiar with the situation, told CBC that the PFA's attendance at the FIFA Congress is key.
"It is the only annual event at which FIFA member associations can feed into global football governance," she said.
The PFA took FIFA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over its decision to continue including Israeli football clubs located in illegal settlements in Palestinian territory of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
"It is supposed to be very concerning for just about anyone in football governance," said Vilarev.
FIFA sanctions Israel Football AssociationIn March, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee levied sanctions on the Israel Football Association relating to offensive behaviour and breaches of the principles of fair play connected to Israeli settlement clubs in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In a statement following the FIFA sanctions, the PFA said the decision did not go far enough to "address the scope and the gravity of the violation."
The association highlighted the "substantiated evidence of systemic discriminatory conduct, institutional failures to act, and conduct capable of amounting to incitement to genocide" uncovered in the investigative proceedings.
PFA is appealing FIFA's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, according to Vilarev.
Even with temporary IRCC policies that exempt foreign nationals from certain requirements for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, there is still 'a high likelihood of denial' for some applicants entering Canada, including Palestinians, says Ravi Jain of Jain Immigration Law. (Aloysius Wong/CBC)Toronto-based immigration lawyer Ravi Jain says that there are many reasons why a visa application can be heavily scrutinized. Factors including the possibility that a visa applicant might file a refugee claim due to geopolitical instability, ties to home country and family connections are all taken into consideration.
The IRCC has a temporary policy in place to facilitate travel and immigration processes for FIFA-invited nationals attending the FIFA Congress and the upcoming men’s World Cup.
But Jain warns that despite the IRCC policy, some applicants may experience difficulty with visa applications and that there is "a high likelihood of denial."
Shalabi, who is currently in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, has a European passport and has secured travel authorization to visit Canada.
She is hopeful the PFA will be able to attend and that the matter will be resolved through official channels.
"This is not good for FIFA or the World Cup," she said. "The PFA board doesn't want Palestine's seat to be empty."
Neither FIFA nor Canada Soccer responded to requests for comment.