FAI votes to put motion to UEFA to ban Israel from European football competitions

LAST UPDATE | 18 hrs ago

The 42

THE FAI HAVE agreed to submit a formal motion to the UEFA Executive Committee requesting the immediate suspension of the Israel Football Association (IFA) from all UEFA-affiliated European football competitions.

At an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) today, 74 members of the FAI General Assembly voted in favour, seven voted against and two abstained.

If passed by UEFA, the motion would effectively ban all Israeli clubs, as well as the Israeli national team, from competing in European football.

The motion was brought forward by League of Ireland side Bohemians before today’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dublin.

The proposal stated that Israel was in breach of FIFA Statutes (Article 73) and UEFA Statutes (Article 5) relating to “the failure of the IFA to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy, in breach of UEFA Statutes (Article 7bis) and related disciplinary regulations (together, the “Violations”).”

It was also agreed to request UEFA “publish transparent criteria for the suspension or exclusion of member associations to ensure equal treatment of all members.”

Israel has become increasingly isolated in recent months following their two-year war on Gaza, which has killed over 68,000 Palestinians in the region.

A number of nations, including Ireland, have moved to formally recognise a Palestinian state in the last two years, and a number of nations have called for Israel to be barred from international competions such as the Eurovision.

In September, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for Israel to be excluded from international sports competitions over its actions in Gaza.

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“Israel cannot continue to use any international platform to whitewash its image,” he said.

Sánchez added that Israel should be treated in the same way as Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the nation’s men’s side has been unable to compete at global and European football competitions, including the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024.

Israel was a founding member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after the nation was established in 1948.

After the 1974 Asian Games in Iran, and Israel’s tense loss to Iran in the finals, Kuwait and other Muslim and Arab countries refused to play them.

Following this, Israel was expelled from the confederation. It tried to join a number of continental bodies before eventually joining UEFA.

Trump ally threats

The decision has sparked reactions abroad.

US Senator and Trump ally Lindsay Graham issued a strong rebuke in a statement on social media today, arguing that banning Israel from European football competitions would be “punishing Jewish people” decades after the Holocaust “because they choose to fight back against terrorist groups who wish to kill all the Jews”.

He accused Hamas of instigating the conflict and of putting civilians at risk, and vowed to press for consequences, including restricting access to the US economy, for those who try to marginalise Israel in sport.

“If these attacks against Israel continue, I will do everything in my power 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,” Graham said.

Written by David Sneyd and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.