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

Grounds for the Recommended Ban

The resolution, which was proposed by Irish side Bohemians, highlighted alleged violations by the IFA of two key European football regulations.

• Failure to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy.
• Establishment of clubs in occupied Palestinian territories lacking the consent of the Palestinian Football Association.

Vote Outcome and Next Steps

According to an official statement from the FAI, the proposal was supported by 74 votes, with seven opposed and two not voting.

The association plans to formally submit this request to the UEFA's decision-making body, seeking the prompt ban of the IFA from European tournaments.

In an extraordinary general meeting of the Football Association of Ireland, an ordinary resolution was posed to members. It passed by a majority.

Previous Uefa Considerations

Uefa had previously paused intentions to exclude Israel at the end of September, following the announcement of Donald Trump's proposed peace plan for the area.

Although Uefa never publicly stated considering an extraordinary meeting on the matter, preparations were understood to be well developed.

International Context

This Irish resolution comes after comparable demands in last autumn from the heads of both Turkey and Norway's governing bodies for banning Israel from international competition.

Those requests were made after UN specialists asked Fifa and Uefa to ban the Israeli FA, citing a UN investigation that accused the country of acts of genocide during the war in Gaza.

The Israeli government has denied these claims and labeled the report as scandalous.

Possible Consequences

Should European football's authority decide to suspend the IFA, it would probably strain relations with the United States government – co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup – which strongly opposes such an action.

Although the European body has the authority to exclude Israeli teams from its tournaments, it may not be able to stop them from taking part in World Cup qualifiers, which falls under Fifa.