Football Association of Ireland (FAI) held a meeting and voted to instruct its board to submit a formal motion to Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) requesting the immediate suspension of Israel Football Association (IFA) from European competitions.
The resolution passed by 74 votes in favour, 7 opposed, and 2 abstentions.
Why is the motion being brought?
The resolution cites two main alleged violations of UEFA statutes by the IFA:
- The organisation of Israeli clubs in occupied Palestinian territories without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association.
- The IFA’s alleged failure to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy.
What’s next and what are the implications?
- The motion still needs to be acted on by UEFA’s executive committee.
- If UEFA were to suspend the IFA, it would affect Israel’s clubs’ participation in European club competitions, and potentially its national team’s European qualifiers. However, because the national team’s world-wide competitions involve Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), full exclusion is more complex.
- The move has diplomatic and political overtones. For example, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham responded by warning the Irish economy could “pay a heavy price” if Israel were marginalised in sport. Irish
Broader context
This step by the FAI follows similar calls earlier this year by other national associations (such as Turkey and Norway) for the suspension of Israel from international football, in light of the war in Gaza and a UN expert report accusing Israel of “genocide” — which Israel denies.
