AhlulBayt News Agency: The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is set to vote on whether to submit a formal motion to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) requesting the immediate suspension of Israel from European competitions.
According to a report published by Reuters on Friday, Bohemian FC, one of Ireland’s major football clubs, has formally asked the FAI to request that UEFA ban Israel from European football tournaments.
Bohemian FC has stated that Israel’s football association (IFA) has violated two major UEFA rules: organizing clubs in occupied Palestinian territories without permission, and failing to enforce effective anti-racism policies.
“These are very serious breaches, important rules that are being ignored,” Daniel Lambert, Bohemians’ chief operating officer, said. He expressed hope that the resolution would succeed with the support of other clubs.
A spokesperson for FAI confirmed that the vote will take place.
UEFA had considered holding a vote in early October on whether to suspend Israel from European competitions over the genocide in Gaza.
The decision did not take place after a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect between the regime and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas on October 10.
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) demanded on September 23 that the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and UEFA suspend Israel from international football tournaments.
It came after a UN Commission of Inquiry report that concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, killing at least 68,500 Palestinians and wounding at least 170,000 others, most of them women and children.
“Sports must reject the perception that it is business as usual,” OHCHR said at the time, adding, “Sporting bodies must not turn a blind eye to grave human rights violations, especially when their platforms are used to normalize injustices.”
“[FIFA and UEFA] must fulfill their obligations not to provide aid or assistance that would help maintain the situation created by Israel [in Gaza] and the Occupied Territories,” OHCHR declared.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) and the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) also called for Israel's suspension from international competitions shortly afterward.
If the FAI votes to submit this motion, UEFA would face significant pressure to hold a vote on the matter, which would likely result in Israel’s suspension from the organization.
Ireland’s government has been among the European Union’s most outspoken critics of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.
It officially recognized a Palestinian state last year and is seeking to restrict trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
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