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The Football Association of Ireland has given the green light to submit a official proposal to Uefa, demanding the banning of Israeli football from continental club and international tournaments.

Grounds for the Recommended Ban

This motion, which was proposed by Dublin club Bohemians, highlighted alleged breaches by the IFA of two key European football regulations.

• Failure to apply and uphold an effective policy against racism.
• Establishment of clubs in disputed territories without the consent of the Palestrian FA.

Ballot Results and Future Actions

As stated in an announcement from the Irish FA, the resolution was supported by 74 votes, with 7 opposed and two abstentions.

The association plans to officially present this request to the UEFA's decision-making body, seeking the prompt ban of the IFA from Uefa competitions.

In an extraordinary general meeting of the FAI, an ordinary resolution was put to delegates. It passed by a large margin.

Previous European Considerations

The European body had previously put on hold plans to exclude Israel at the end of September, following the revealing of Donald Trump's proposed peace plan for the region.

While they never officially confirmed considering an extraordinary meeting on the issue, plans were believed to be quite advanced.

International Backdrop

The FAI resolution comes after comparable calls in last autumn from the leaders of both Turkey and Norway's football associations for banning Israel from international competition.

These appeals were made after United Nations experts asked Fifa and Uefa to ban Israel, referencing a UN investigation that accused the country of acts of genocide during the war in Gaza.

The Israeli government has rejected these allegations and labeled the findings as outrageous.

Potential Consequences

If Uefa decide to ban Israel, it would likely strain relations with the US administration – co-hosts for the upcoming World Cup – which strongly opposes such an measure.

Although the European body has the power to exclude Israel or its clubs from its tournaments, it may not be able to prevent them from competing in World Cup qualifiers, which is governed by world football's governing body.