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Vancouver photo op gone wrong: FIFA president tries to bring Israel and Palestine together

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
|
Apr 30 2026, 11:24 pm
Vancouver photo op gone wrong: FIFA president tries to bring Israel and Palestine together
Elizabeth Ruiz Ruiz - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

The Vancouver Convention Centre was the site of an international incident on Thursday.

With 43 days to go before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Vancouver hosted the 76th Congress — an annual meeting of FIFA delegates.

“Today, Vancouver is the capital of the world,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Representatives from 210 of 211 national associations were in attendance, with the lone exception being Iran. Infantino confirmed Iran will compete at the World Cup, despite having to play matches in the United States — a country it is currently at war with.

The nearly four-hour event was relatively uneventful until delegates were invited onto the podium to speak. Representatives from just two countries spoke — Israel and Palestine.

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Palestine Football Association President Jibril Rajoub speaks at the FIFA Congress in Vancouver (Rich Lam – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Jibril Rajoub, the President of the Palestine Football Association, spoke for 15 minutes. That was followed immediately by a five-minute speech by Israel Football Association ⁠Vice-President Basim Sheikh ⁠Suliman.

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Israel Football Association ⁠Vice-President Basim Sheikh ⁠Suliman addresses the audience (Rich Lam – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

At this point, Infantino inexplicably thought it was an appropriate time for a photo op. The FIFA President asked Suliman to remain on stage and invited Rajoub to return.

Not sure what Infantino expected, but the Palestinian Football Association President had no interest in shaking hands or posing for cameras.

Rajoub pushed Infantino away, after the smiling FIFA President approached him to shake hands. What followed was a two-minute exchange between Rajoub and Infantino before the FIFA president grabbed the microphone to try to cool things down.

“Let me please say something,” Infantino said. “Let me thank the two representatives, from Israel and from Palestine, who have the same rights, the same duties, and the same obligations, who are members of FIFA. We will work together. Let’s work together, to give hope to the children. Let’s work together for that.”

East Van’s Victor Montagliani welcomes the world

The 2026 World Cup is extra meaningful for FIFA Vice-President Victor Montagliani.

With the FIFA Congress taking place in his hometown, the 60-year-old East Vancouver native spoke about what it means to him.

“This is a very special moment in my professional journey, and it’s not just professional, it’s deeply personal. Just a few kilometres from here, in East Vancouver, as a five-year-old boy I first kicked a football at a club called Grandview Legion. I grew up surrounded by the game here,” Montagliani said.

“This moment here in my beloved city of Vancouver means so much… We will welcome the world here, to Vancouver and across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.”

Grass going in at BC Place

FIFA is not wasting time getting BC Place ready to welcome the world.

The stadium currently contains a pile of dirt, as workers prepare to lay down a natural grass surface ahead of the tournament.

What remains to be seen is if this will affect the status of BC Place’s retractable roof.

The “variation in light” is apparently an issue for the natural surface, with a recent report suggesting that the roof will need to be closed for the duration of the tournament.

But in a response to a question from Daily Hive, a FIFA spokesperson left open the possibility that the roof could open.

“The decision to open or close the roof at BC Place Vancouver during the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be determined by FIFA closer to match day(s),” the spokesperson said.

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