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The Football Association of Ireland has given the green light to submit a formal motion to European football's governing body, calling for the exclusion of Israel from continental club and international competitions.

Grounds for the Proposed Suspension

The resolution, that had been proposed by Irish side Bohemians, cited alleged breaches by the IFA of a couple of important Uefa statutes.

• Inability to implement and enforce an proper policy against racism.
• Organisation of football teams in disputed territories without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association.

Vote Outcome and Next Steps

According to an announcement from the FAI, the resolution was backed by 74 votes, with 7 opposed and 2 abstentions.

They intends to officially present this request to the Uefa executive committee, asking for the immediate suspension of the Israel Football Association from European tournaments.

In an extraordinary general meeting of the FAI, an ordinary resolution was posed to members. It was approved by a large margin.

Earlier European Deliberations

The European body had previously paused intentions to ban Israeli football at the close of last month, following the revealing of a US peace proposal for the area.

While they never publicly stated considering an extraordinary meeting on the issue, preparations were believed to be well developed.

Global Context

The FAI resolution follows comparable calls in last autumn from the heads of both Turkey and Norway's governing bodies for banning Israel from international competition.

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

Israel has rejected these claims and described the report as outrageous.

Potential Ramifications

If Uefa decide to suspend Israel, it would likely strain relations with the US administration – co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup – which strongly opposes such an measure.

Even though the European body has the authority to suspend Israeli teams from European competitions, it may not be able to stop them from competing in World Cup qualifiers, which falls under world football's governing body.