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Irish football body votes to seek Israel’s ban from European competition

Anti-Israel protesters holding a banner in Dublin, Ireland, calling on UEFA and FIFA to ‘show Israel the red card’.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to suspend Israel from international competitions.

The resolution, proposed by Dublin club Bohemians, says that the Israel Football Association (IFA) failed to enforce an effective anti-racism policy and continues to organize clubs in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association.

The motion passed Saturday with 74 votes in favor, seven against, and two abstentions, according to the FAI. The association confirmed that it plans to submit a formal motion to UEFA’s executive committee requesting Israel’s immediate suspension from its competitions.

The Irish resolution follows similar calls from the Turkish and Norwegian football associations, which urged Israel’s suspension from international competitions.

These requests came after United Nations experts appealed to FIFA and UEFA to act, citing a UN Commission of Inquiry report that concluded Israel was actively committing genocide against Palestinians.

In a letter to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, the experts described banning Israel as “imperative” and urged the football governing body and its members to “fulfil their legal and moral obligations to uphold international law and move forward with an immediate and complete ban of Israeli football.”

The letter highlighted the devastating impact of Israel’s actions on football in Gaza as at least 421 Palestinian footballers have been killed since the regime launched its war on the Palestinian territory in October 2023.


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