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Ireland's football governing body has given the green light to submit a formal motion to European football's governing body, calling for the exclusion of Israel from continental club and international tournaments.

Grounds for the Proposed Ban

The resolution, which was proposed by Dublin club Bohemians, highlighted alleged breaches by the Israel Football Association of a couple of key European football regulations.

• Failure to apply and uphold an effective anti-racism policy.
• Establishment of football teams in disputed territories without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association.

Ballot Results and Future Actions

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

The association intends to formally submit this motion to the Uefa executive committee, asking for the prompt ban of the Israel Football Association from Uefa competitions.

In an extraordinary general meeting of the Football Association of Ireland, an ordinary resolution was put to members. It passed by a majority.

Previous European Deliberations

Uefa had previously paused plans to exclude Israeli football at the close of last month, following the revealing of Donald Trump's proposed peace plan for the area.

While Uefa never publicly stated contemplating an extraordinary meeting on the matter, plans were believed to be well developed.

Global Backdrop

This Irish resolution follows comparable calls in last autumn from the heads of both Turkey and Norway's governing bodies for Israel's suspension from international competition.

These appeals were issued after United Nations experts asked world and European football bodies to ban the Israeli FA, referencing a UN investigation that accused the country of committing genocide during the Gaza conflict.

The Israeli government has denied these claims and described the report as outrageous.

Possible Ramifications

If European football's authority choose to suspend Israel, it would likely strain relations with the United States government – joint hosts for the 2026 World Cup – which is firmly against such an action.

Although Uefa has the power to suspend Israel or its clubs from European competitions, it may not be able to prevent them from competing in World Cup qualifiers, which falls under world football's governing body.