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Ireland's football governing body has given the green light to present a formal motion to European football's governing body, calling for the banning of Israeli football from all European club and international competitions.

Grounds for the Proposed Ban

The resolution, that had been put forward by Irish side Bohemians, highlighted claimed breaches by the IFA of a couple of key Uefa statutes.

• Inability to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy.
• Establishment of football teams in occupied Palestinian territories without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association.

Ballot Results and Future Actions

As stated in an official statement from the FAI, the proposal was backed by 74 votes, with seven opposed and 2 abstentions.

The association intends to officially present this motion to the UEFA's decision-making body, seeking the immediate suspension of the IFA from European tournaments.

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

Previous Uefa Deliberations

Uefa had previously put on hold intentions to ban Israel at the end of September, following the announcement of Donald Trump's proposed peace plan for the region.

Although they never officially confirmed contemplating an extraordinary meeting on the issue, plans were understood to be quite advanced.

International Context

This Irish move comes after comparable calls in last autumn from the leaders of Turkish and Norwegian governing bodies for banning Israel from international competition.

Those requests were issued after United Nations experts urged Fifa and Uefa to suspend the Israeli FA, referencing a UN commission of inquiry report that claimed the country of acts of genocide during the war in Gaza.

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

Possible Consequences

If Uefa choose to suspend Israel, it would likely create tension with the US administration – joint hosts for the upcoming World Cup – which is firmly against such an measure.

Even though Uefa has the power to suspend Israeli teams from European competitions, it might not be able to prevent them from competing in World Cup qualifiers, which is governed by Fifa.