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Ireland's football governing body has given the green light to present a formal motion to Uefa, demanding the banning of Israeli football from continental team and national competitions.

Grounds for the Proposed Suspension

This motion, that had been proposed by Dublin club Bohemians, highlighted claimed breaches by the IFA of two important Uefa statutes.

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

Vote Outcome and Next Steps

As stated in an announcement from the Irish FA, the proposal was backed by 74 votes, with 7 opposed and 2 abstentions.

The association plans to officially present this motion to the Uefa executive committee, asking for the prompt ban of the Israel Football Association from European tournaments.

In an extraordinary general meeting of the FAI, an ordinary resolution was posed to delegates. It was approved by a majority.

Earlier Uefa Deliberations

The European body had earlier paused intentions to ban Israeli football at the end of September, following the announcement of a US peace proposal for the area.

While they never officially confirmed contemplating an extraordinary meeting on the matter, preparations were believed to be well developed.

Global Backdrop

This Irish resolution follows comparable calls in September from the leaders of Turkish and Norwegian governing bodies for banning Israel from global football.

Those requests were issued after United Nations experts asked Fifa and Uefa to suspend the Israeli FA, citing a UN commission of inquiry report that accused Israel of acts of genocide during the war in Gaza.

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

Possible Consequences

If Uefa decide to ban Israel, it would probably create tension with the United States government – joint hosts for the upcoming World Cup – which is firmly against such an measure.

Even though the European body has the power to exclude Israeli teams from European competitions, it might not be able to stop them from competing in qualification for the World Cup, which falls under world football's governing body.