The chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, Jibril Rajoub was denied entry to Australia with the soccer team set to play an Asian World Cup qualifiers match there.
Rajoub's ban was described as a "technical" visa issue. The prominent Fatah member was previously convicted by Israel for terrorist activities and has publicly justified Hamas' lethal assault on October 7.
The Australian Football Association said they were aware of the situation which they explained falls under "governmental matters," and are seeking a resolution.
The Australian Ministry of Interior refused to comment on "individual cases." A ministry spokesperson explained that visa requests for non-citizens are evaluated individually based on the country's immigration policies. FIFA said they urge ensuring the free movement of all team delegation members for international matches.
For years, Rajoub had was active in efforts to ban Israeli soccer from participating in games. He recently unsuccessfully attempted to bring to a vote at the FIFA Congress the exclusion of Israel from international competitions. Last Thursday, Rajoub hosted FIFA President Gianni Infantino at a "home" game for the Palestine national team against Lebanon, which was held in Doha, Qatar.