{"id":169969,"date":"2025-11-08T15:39:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T15:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/169969\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T15:39:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T15:39:07","slug":"fai-to-bring-motion-to-suspend-israel-from-all-uefa-competitions-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/169969\/","title":{"rendered":"FAI to bring motion to suspend Israel from all Uefa competitions \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI)<\/a> has voted to submit a motion to suspend Israel from all Uefa<\/a> competitions.<\/p>\n

The FAI\u2019s Emergency General Meeting voted 74 in favour, with seven against and two abstaining, to remove Israeli clubs from European competitions and to stop the Israel national side from qualifying for major tournaments through Uefa.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d read an FAI statement ahead of their AGM on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The violations of Uefa statutes include \u201cthe organisation of clubs in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association, in breach of Fifa Statutes (Article 73) and Uefa Statutes (Article 5)\u201d and the \u201cfailure\u201d of the IFA \u201cto implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The FAI will also call on Uefa to publish \u201ctransparent criteria for the suspension or exclusion of member associations to ensure equal treatment of all members.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ordinary resolution was proposed by Bohemians football club, with the club\u2019s chief operating officer Dan Lambert confirming to The Irish Times the FAI general assembly\u2019s passing of the resolution can be used as a roadmap for other federations, like Norway that have been critical of the IFA actions in the West Bank.<\/p>\n

In response to the FAI vote, US senator Lindsey Graham said that the Irish economy would \u201cpay a heavy price\u201d for attempting to marginalise Israel from sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cIreland and others would be punishing the Jewish people 80 years after the Holocaust because they choose to fight back against terrorist groups who wish to kill all the Jews,\u201d said Graham on X. \u201cHamas started this war. Hamas has put civilians at risk to continue this war. And Hamas is a radical Islamic terrorist group dedicated to the destruction of Israel. They must be defeated militarily and politically.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

It is my understanding Ireland is about to make a motion to the European body governing soccer to ban Israel from playing in European soccer tournaments.<\/p>\n

Ireland and others would be punishing the Jewish people 80 years after the Holocaust because they choose to fight back\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) November 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Last month, the Turkish Football Federation became the first Uefa member to formally call for Israel to be suspended, citing the \u201cinhumane and unacceptable\u201d situation in Gaza.<\/p>\n

The FAI EGM, which was not open to the media, also discussed the FAI\u2019s ongoing plans to remove 60 staff members via a voluntary redundancy scheme.<\/p>\n