The sales agent in the “occupied Palestinian territories” was removed on Wednesday from the list of agents on FIFA’s hospitality package sales website for the 2022 World Cup, after users noticed earlier that the site had failed to mention Israel at all on its list of sales agents.
Israelis who wish to purchase a hospitality package for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, which is taking place in November, will see that the package being sold by Winterhill Hospitality lists the country as “Palestinian Territory, Occupied,” and does not have an option listed as Israel. The realization had sparked outrage in Israeli media, although a number of other countries, such as Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, are also not mentioned on the site.
Israeli businessmen who entered the site were amazed to see that Israel’s name had disappeared, Ynet reported.
According to its commitments to FIFA, Qatar is obliged to give the same treatment to all countries, without omitting names or flags, the report said.
Israel-World Cup background
Israel had previously struck a deal with FIFA in June that would allow Israelis to travel to Qatar to attend the World Cup, which marks the first time that Israeli passports will be accepted into the country, as fans will be able to apply for a Fan ID online after buying tickets. The ID would serve as an entry visa and allow booking flights and accommodation.
Since Qatar does not allow visas for Israeli passports, there was speculation before the deal had been struck on whether Israelis would be able to attend.