According to SKY NEWS reporting, the governing body for football in the Republic of Ireland, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), has approved a formal resolution calling on UEFA to suspend Israel and its club sides from European competitions. The Saturday ballot of FAI members was overwhelmingly carried, with 74 votes in favour, seven against, and two abstentions.
The resolution, proposed by Dublin side Bohemian FC, calls for a ban citing alleged violations of UEFA rules. In a statement, the FAI claimed Israel’s FA had allegedly “failed to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy” and allowed Israeli clubs to play in “illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank without the consent of the Palestinian FA.”
This decision echoes similar September calls from Turkish and Norwegian football bosses. The move follows accusations by a UN investigation that Israel committed genocide during the war in Gaza, which was triggered by a Hamas attack on 7 October, 2023, killing about 1,200 people. Israel denies the genocide allegations, with its foreign ministry calling the report “distorted and false” and saying it “categorically rejects” it.
A UEFA ban, which was previously discussed but ended after an October 10 ceasefire, would stop Israel from European competitions. The action has drawn sharp criticism from the US. Senior US Republican politician Lindsey Graham warned he would do everything he could to ‘make those who participate in this effort to marginalise Israel in sports, and elsewhere, pay a heavy price when it comes to access to the American economy.’
The retaliatory Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed more than 69,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.