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Ireland's football governing body has voted in favor to submit a formal motion to European football's governing body, demanding the exclusion of Israel from continental team and national tournaments.

Grounds for the Recommended Suspension

This motion, which was put forward by Dublin club Bohemians, cited claimed breaches by the Israel Football Association of a couple of important European football regulations.

• Failure to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy.
• Organisation of clubs 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 Irish FA, the proposal was backed by 74 votes, with seven opposed and 2 not voting.

They plans to officially present this request to the Uefa executive committee, asking for the prompt ban of the IFA from Uefa competitions.

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

Previous European Deliberations

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

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

International Backdrop

This Irish move follows comparable calls in September from the leaders of Turkish and Norwegian governing bodies for Israel's suspension from international competition.

These appeals were issued after United Nations experts urged world and European football bodies to ban the Israeli FA, citing a UN investigation that accused Israel of committing genocide during the war in Gaza.

The Israeli government has rejected these claims and labeled the report as scandalous.

Possible Consequences

Should Uefa choose to ban the IFA, it would probably create tension with the United States government – joint hosts for the 2026 World Cup – which is firmly against such an measure.

Although the European body has the authority to exclude Israel or its clubs from European competitions, it may not be able to stop them from competing in World Cup qualifiers, which falls under Fifa.