THE Football Association Ireland (FAI) has voted to submit a motion to Uefa to ban Israel from its European club and international competitions. The vote, proposed by Bohemians, was put to the FAI’s General Assembly at an EGM on November 8 last week, which was held directly before the AGM in Blanchardstown in Dublin. 

The proposal for the vote cited two alleged violations of Uefa statutes by the Israel Football Association (IFA): organising clubs in occupied Palestinian territories without the consent of the Palestinian FA; and the alleged failure of the IFA to enforce an effective anti-racism policy. 

The motion required support from 50 per cent of FAI delegates to pass. It passed by a majority, with 74 votes in favour, seven against and two abstentions. 

The General Assembly consists of three chambers: professional football, amateur and youth football and a national bodies group which represents schoolboys’ and schoolgirls’ football.

In a statement, Bohemians said: “Bohemians today expresses gratitude to FAI delegates who voted overwhelmingly in favour of the club’s motion to mandate the association to call on Uefa to suspend Israel from European competition due to ongoing breaches of Uefa rules and statutes.”

“Bohemians is proud to have advanced the motion at the FAI’s General Assembly EGM this afternoon, with the help of Irish Sport for Palestine and FairSquare.” In September, Bohemians had joined advocacy groups FairSquare and Irish Sport for Palestine in writing to Uefa General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis. 

There had seemed to be a real prospect of Israel being suspended by Uefa in late September, and it was understood there were discussions around holding an emergency meeting of its executive committee on that topic. 

However, that prospect receded after the announcement of the Israel-Hamas peace plan for Gaza.