Ireland’s Football Association Votes to Urge UEFA Ban on Israel from European Competitions

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has passed a motion calling on UEFA to suspend Israel from participating in European football competitions.

In a statement, the FAI said the Israeli Football Association had allegedly failed to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy, while also permitting Israeli clubs to compete in illegal settlements within the occupied West Bank without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association.

The proposal, tabled by one of Ireland’s prominent clubs, Bohemian FC of Dublin, mirrors similar demands made in September by football authorities in Turkey and Norway for Israel’s suspension from international competition.

These calls followed a United Nations commission report accusing Israel of committing genocide during the ongoing war in Gaza and urging both UEFA and FIFA—the sport’s global governing body—to impose a ban on Israel’s participation in international football.

Israel has strongly denied the genocide allegations. The country’s foreign ministry dismissed the UN report as “distorted and false”, stating it “categorically rejects” the findings.

‘A Heavy Price’

UEFA had previously initiated discussions regarding a potential ban on Israel; however, the talks were suspended after a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect on 10 October.

Should such a ban be imposed, it could place UEFA in direct conflict with the United States government—Israel’s most powerful ally and a co-host of next year’s World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico.

The administration of former US President Donald Trump has expressed strong opposition to any move towards Israel’s suspension.

A UEFA ban would prohibit Israel from participating in European competitions but would not necessarily affect its World Cup qualifiers, which fall under FIFA’s jurisdiction.

On Friday, senior US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham condemned the FAI’s decision to hold the vote, pledging to ensure that 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”.

Senator Graham and other members of the US Congress have also criticised Ireland’s plans to restrict trade with Israeli settlements located within the occupied Palestinian territories.

Ireland has long been one of the European Union’s most vocal critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

The conflict was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent retaliatory offensive has, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, claimed the lives of more than 69,000 Palestinians—figures that do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.