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

Grounds for the Recommended Suspension

The resolution, which was proposed by Dublin club Bohemians, highlighted claimed violations by the IFA of a couple of key Uefa statutes.

• Inability to implement and enforce an effective policy against racism.
• Establishment of clubs in disputed territories without the consent of the Palestrian FA.

Ballot Results and Next Steps

As stated in an announcement from the Irish FA, the proposal was backed by 74 votes, with seven against and two abstentions.

The association plans to officially present this motion to the UEFA's decision-making body, asking for the prompt ban of the Israel Football Association from European tournaments.

During a special assembly of the FAI, an standard motion was put to members. It passed by a large margin.

Earlier European Deliberations

Uefa had previously paused intentions to ban Israeli football at the close of last month, following the revealing of Donald Trump's proposed peace plan for the region.

While Uefa never officially confirmed considering an special session on the issue, plans were believed to be well developed.

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 suspend Israel, citing a UN investigation that accused Israel of committing genocide during the war in Gaza.

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

Potential Consequences

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

Even though the European body has the authority to exclude Israeli teams from European competitions, it might not be able to stop them from taking part in World Cup qualifiers, which is governed by Fifa.