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The Football Association of Ireland has voted in favor to present a formal motion to European football's governing body, calling for the exclusion of Israeli football from all European team and national tournaments.

Grounds for the Proposed Suspension

This motion, that had been proposed by Dublin club Bohemians, cited claimed breaches by the IFA of a couple of important European football regulations.

• Inability to implement and enforce an effective policy against racism.
• Organisation of clubs in occupied Palestinian territories without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association.

Vote Outcome and Next Steps

As stated in an announcement from the Irish FA, the resolution was backed by 74 votes, with seven opposed and 2 not voting.

The association intends to formally submit this motion to the Uefa executive committee, asking for the prompt ban of the IFA from European tournaments.

In an extraordinary general meeting of the Football Association of Ireland, an standard motion was put to members. It was approved by a large margin.

Earlier European Deliberations

The European body had previously paused plans to exclude Israeli football at the end of September, following the revealing of a US peace proposal for the area.

Although Uefa never officially confirmed contemplating an special session on the matter, plans were believed to be quite advanced.

International Context

This Irish resolution follows similar demands in September from the leaders of Turkish and Norwegian governing bodies for banning Israel from global football.

These appeals were issued after UN specialists asked world and European football bodies to suspend Israel, referencing a UN investigation that accused the country of committing genocide during the Gaza conflict.

Israel has denied these claims and described the findings as scandalous.

Possible Consequences

If Uefa choose to suspend the IFA, it would likely strain relations with the United States government – joint hosts for the 2026 World Cup – which strongly opposes such an measure.

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