Basim Sheikh Suliman

Basim Sheikh Suliman is vice-president of the Israel Football Association (IFA), one of the most senior Arab citizens of Israel in Israeli football governance. His position within the IFA's leadership is often cited institutionally as evidence that Israeli football is accessible to Arab citizens — a line of argument the IFA itself deploys when defending its international standing. The extent to which his prominence reflects systemic inclusion or selective representation is contested among Arab civil society groups inside Israel.

Suliman was on the platform at the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on 30 April 2026 when Palestinian FA president Jibril Rajoub publicly refused to shake his hand during a photograph staged by Gianni Infantino . Rajoub's refusal was accompanied by a direct question to Infantino about Palestinian suffering. The gesture was widely interpreted as directed at the Israeli state's Conduct rather than at Suliman personally, but the symbolism cut in multiple directions: it was an Arab-Israeli official whose hand was refused, on stage, at the world's largest football congress.

Suliman's appearance at Vancouver was directly connected to the active PFA appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, filed around 20 April 2026, which challenges FIFA's decision to fine the IFA approximately $191,000 rather than suspending it or expelling clubs based in occupied West Bank settlements . The CAS appeal, not the Congress photo-op, is the proceeding with the potential to change his organisation's World Cup status.