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The Football Association of Ireland has given the green light to submit a official proposal to Uefa, demanding the exclusion of Israel from continental team and national competitions.

Basis of the Proposed Suspension

This motion, which was put forward by Irish side Bohemians, highlighted alleged violations by the IFA of a couple of key Uefa statutes.

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

Ballot Results and Next Steps

According to an official statement from the Irish FA, the proposal was supported by 74 votes, with seven against and 2 not voting.

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

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

Previous European Deliberations

Uefa had earlier paused intentions to exclude Israel at the close of last month, following the announcement of a US peace proposal for the region.

Although they never publicly stated considering an special session on the issue, plans were believed to be quite advanced.

Global Backdrop

This Irish move follows similar demands in September from the leaders of both Turkey and Norway's governing bodies for banning Israel from international competition.

These appeals were issued after United Nations experts urged Fifa and Uefa to ban the Israeli FA, citing a UN investigation that accused the country of committing genocide during the war in Gaza.

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

Potential Ramifications

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

Even though the European body has the authority to suspend Israel or its clubs from European competitions, it might not be able to prevent them from taking part in World Cup qualifiers, which is governed by Fifa.