Football Palestine has learned that the Palestine Football Association reached out to former National Team Manager Abdel Nasser Barakat in the past weeks to return as manager of the national team.
The contact was initiated by the Secretary General Firas Abu Hilal and came with several stipulations.
First, the assignment was temporary in nature and Barakat would not have any way to extend his stay past the June qualifiers against Singapore and Yemen.
Second, Barakat would not be able to choose his own staff and would have to make due with the same backroom staff that worked under Noureddine Ould Ali.
Lastly, the offer was never formalized with the big stumbling block being getting the approval of PFA President Jibril Rajoub who has been reticent to restore Barakat to the role since dismissing him in 2017.
In an even more interesting twist, the Palestine Football Association leaked details of their discussion with Abdel Nasser Barakat to the press in the hopes they could turn the page on the three and a half year saga. That tactic backfired spectacularly on social media with fans overwhelmingly siding with the former manager in his decision to turn down such an insulting offer.
