Football Association of Ireland Backs Motion Calling for European Football Ban on Israel

Ireland's football governing body has given the green light to present a official proposal to European football's governing body, demanding the exclusion of Israeli football from all European team and national tournaments.

Grounds for the Proposed Ban

The resolution, that had been proposed by Dublin club Bohemians, highlighted claimed breaches by the Israel Football Association of a couple of important European football regulations.

• Inability to implement and enforce an proper policy against racism.
• Establishment of clubs in disputed territories without the approval of the Palestinian Football Association.

Ballot Results and Next Steps

As stated in an official statement from the FAI, the resolution was supported by 74 votes, with 7 opposed and two not voting.

The association plans to officially present this request to the Uefa executive committee, seeking the immediate suspension of the Israel Football Association from Uefa competitions.

In an extraordinary general meeting of the FAI, an ordinary resolution was posed to delegates. It passed by a majority.

Earlier European Considerations

The European body had earlier put on hold plans to exclude Israeli football at the end of September, following the revealing of a US peace proposal for the region.

While Uefa never officially confirmed contemplating an special session on the issue, preparations were believed to be quite advanced.

Global Context

The FAI move follows similar calls in last autumn from the leaders of Turkish and Norwegian governing bodies for Israel's suspension from global football.

Those requests were issued after United Nations experts urged world and European football bodies to ban Israel, citing a UN investigation that claimed the country of acts of genocide during the war in Gaza.

Israel has denied these claims and labeled the findings as outrageous.

Possible Consequences

Should Uefa choose to suspend Israel, it would probably strain relations with the US administration – co-hosts for the upcoming World Cup – which strongly opposes such an action.

Although the European body has the power to suspend Israel or its clubs from its tournaments, it may not be able to prevent them from taking part in World Cup qualifiers, which is governed by Fifa.