Israel clear to play in Olympic soccer tournament after FIFA postpones decision on possible ban

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA has postponed a decision on a Palestinian proposal to suspend Israel from international soccer because of the conflict with Hamas, clearing the way for the Israeli men’s national team to play at the Paris Olympics. Soccer’s world governing body had been set to make a decision Saturday at an extraordinary council meeting after asking for an independent legal assessment of the Palestinian proposal two months ago. That decision would have come just four days before the start of the Olympic soccer tournament, where Israel has been drawn into a group with Japan, Mali and Paraguay. However, FIFA said Thursday that it had pushed back the timeline because “more time is needed to conclude this process with due care and completeness.”