Irish football body to request UEFA suspends Israel

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) voted to ask UEFA to suspend Israel from all European competitions, the Irish Times reported on Saturday, citing a statement from the association.

In an emergency general meeting, 74 members of the board of directors voted in favour of trying to remove Israeli clubs from European competitions and to stop the Israeli national team from qualifying for major tournaments through UEFA.

There were seven votes against the motion, while two members abstained.

“The board of directors of the FAI is hereby instructed to and shall, without delay, submit a formal motion to the UEFA executive committee requesting the immediate suspension of the Israel FA (IFA) from UEFA competitions due to its violating two independent provisions of the UEFA statutes,” read an FAI statement according to the Irish Times.

The FAI believes that Israel’s violations of UEFA statutes include “the organization of clubs in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association” and the “failure” of the IFA to “implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy.”

The FAI will also call on UEFA to publish “transparent criteria for the suspension or exclusion of member associations to ensure equal treatment of all members.”

Ireland, alongside England, Scotland, and Wales, will host Euro 2028.

Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) president Lise Klaveness has also spoken out in favour of the exclusion of Israel from international football events, in view of more than two years of conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza.

A ceasefire is holding, but reports say there have been several breaches.

Click here to read article