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Ireland's football governing body has given the green light to submit a formal motion to Uefa, calling for the exclusion of Israeli football from all European team and national competitions.

Grounds for the Proposed Ban

The resolution, that had been put forward by Irish side Bohemians, highlighted alleged violations by the Israel Football Association of two important Uefa statutes.

• Failure to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy.
• Establishment of football teams in disputed territories lacking the approval of the Palestrian FA.

Vote Outcome and Future Actions

According to an official statement from the Irish FA, the resolution was supported by 74 votes, with seven against and two abstentions.

The association plans to formally submit this request 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 Football Association of Ireland, an ordinary resolution was put to delegates. It was approved by a large margin.

Previous European Considerations

Uefa had previously put on hold intentions to exclude Israeli football at the close of last month, following the announcement of Donald Trump's proposed peace plan for the region.

While they never officially confirmed considering an extraordinary meeting on the issue, plans were understood to be well developed.

International Context

This Irish move comes after similar calls in September from the leaders of both Turkey and Norway's football associations for banning Israel from international competition.

Those requests were made after United Nations experts urged Fifa and Uefa to ban the Israeli FA, citing a UN investigation that accused Israel of acts of genocide during the Gaza conflict.

Israel has denied these claims and labeled the report as scandalous.

Potential Consequences

If European football's authority choose to ban the IFA, it would probably create tension with the United States government – joint hosts for the 2026 World Cup – which is firmly against 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 is governed by world football's governing body.