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Ireland's football governing body has given the green light to submit a official proposal to Uefa, calling for the banning of Israeli football from continental team and national tournaments.

Basis of the Recommended Ban

The resolution, that had been proposed by Irish side Bohemians, highlighted claimed breaches by the IFA of a couple of important European football regulations.

• Inability to apply and uphold an effective anti-racism policy.
• Organisation of clubs in disputed territories lacking the consent of the Palestrian FA.

Ballot Results and Future Actions

As stated in an announcement from the FAI, the resolution was backed by 74 votes, with 7 opposed and two not voting.

The association plans to officially present this request to the Uefa executive committee, asking for the immediate suspension of the IFA from European tournaments.

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

Earlier European Considerations

The European body had earlier paused intentions to ban Israel at the end of September, following the revealing of a US peace proposal for the region.

Although they never officially confirmed considering an special session on the issue, plans were understood to be quite advanced.

Global Context

The FAI resolution comes after comparable demands in last autumn from the leaders of Turkish and Norwegian governing bodies for banning Israel from global football.

These appeals were made after United Nations experts urged world and European football bodies to ban Israel, referencing a UN commission of inquiry report that accused Israel of acts of genocide during the Gaza conflict.

The Israeli government has denied these allegations and labeled the findings as scandalous.

Potential Consequences

Should Uefa choose to ban Israel, it would likely strain relations with the US administration – co-hosts for the upcoming World Cup – which strongly opposes such an action.

Even though the European body has the authority to suspend Israeli teams from its tournaments, it might not be able to stop them from competing in World Cup qualifiers, which is governed by Fifa.