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Gianni Infantino's Israel-Palestine handshake fails at FIFA Congress

sportsMay 1, 20262087

At the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, FIFA president Gianni Infantino tried to stage a handshake between Palestinian and Israeli delegates, but the Palestinian representative refused, saying "We are suffering." The move came as Infantino announced he was seeking another presidential term after ten years in office and amid criticism of his leadership, including his decision to award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump. The failed photo opportunity underlined the limits of symbolic gestures at sport governing bodies and signaled that delegates expect substantive action on conflict, not staged reconciliations.

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