The president of the Palestinian Football Association has been banned from all football activity for the next year after calling on fans to burn jerseys and pictures of Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Jibril Rajoub made the comments about Messi in advance of the planned friendly match between Argentina and Israel in Jerusalem before this summer's World Cup. The game was ultimately cancelled amid political pressure.

In addition to a 12-month match suspension, Rajoub has also been handed a fine of 20,000...

Argentina Football Association (AFA) president Claudio Tapia has apologised to Israelis for the cancellation of Saturday's international friendly but maintained it was the right decision because of the threatening atmosphere surrounding the match.

The game, Argentina's final warm-up before the World Cup, was to be played in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Malha, which is situated on the site of a former Palestinian village that was destroyed during the war that established Israel 70 years ago.

Palestinian...

Argentina have cancelled their final World Cup warm-up match against Israel that had been scheduled for Saturday, federation officials and players said on Tuesday.

The game had been a subject of controversy as it was set to be played in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Malha, which is situated on the site of a former Palestinian village destroyed during the war that established Israel 70 years ago.

The move comes in the wake of Palestinian Football Federation chief Jibril Rajoub calling on...