Israel football team to participate in Paris Games as ban lifted

FIFA rejected a proposal to ban Israel's international football team, which would have allowed the Israeli team to participate in the Paris Olympics, two months after announcing a neutral legal review of the Palestinian proposal. FIFA was due to hold its annual general assembly meeting on Saturday.

The decision comes four days before the start of the Olympic football competition, which places the Israeli team in a group with Japan, Mali and Paraguay, with FIFA saying the process could take longer to complete, meaning the decision will now be made after the Olympics. Both sides had requested an extension to present their arguments and the independent investigation report could not be submitted before August 31. The men's Olympic football final will be played on August 9.