Football Association of Ireland Approves Motion Urging Uefa Ban on Israeli Teams
Ireland's football governing body has voted in favor to present a formal motion to European football's governing body, calling for the banning of Israel from all European club and international tournaments.
Grounds for the Proposed Suspension
The resolution, that had been proposed by Irish side Bohemians, highlighted claimed violations by the IFA of a couple of important European football regulations.
- Failure to apply and uphold an effective policy against racism.
- Organisation of clubs in occupied Palestinian territories without the consent of the Palestrian FA.
Vote Outcome and Next Steps
As stated in an official statement from the FAI, the resolution was supported by 74 votes, with 7 opposed and two abstentions.
The association plans to officially present this motion to the Uefa executive committee, seeking the immediate suspension of the IFA from Uefa competitions.
During a special assembly of the FAI, an standard motion was posed to delegates. It was approved by a large margin.
Previous Uefa Considerations
Uefa had earlier paused plans to ban Israel at the end of September, following the revealing of a US peace proposal for the area.
While they never publicly stated contemplating an special session on the matter, plans were understood to be quite advanced.
International Context
The FAI move comes after similar calls in last autumn from the heads of Turkish and Norwegian football associations for banning Israel from global football.
These appeals were issued after United Nations experts asked Fifa and Uefa to ban the Israeli FA, referencing a UN investigation that accused Israel of acts of genocide during the Gaza conflict.
The Israeli government has denied these claims and described the findings as outrageous.
Potential Consequences
If European football's authority choose to suspend the IFA, it would likely create tension with the US administration – co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup – which strongly opposes such an action.
Even though Uefa has the authority to exclude Israeli teams from European competitions, it may not be able to stop them from competing in qualification for the World Cup, which falls under Fifa.
