Irish soccer body pushes for Israel UEFA ban

A ban on Israel could set UEFA on a direct collision course with the U.S., a 2026 World Cup co-host that firmly rejects any boycott of Israel.

By JNS

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) on Saturday passed a resolution supporting a ban on Israel by Europe’s soccer federation, UEFA.

The resolution, proposed by the Dublin club Bohemians, cites two allegations of violations of UEFA statutes, as interpreted by FAI.

The first is on combating racism effectively and the other on not obtaining the Palestinian Authority’s authorization for establishing soccer clubs in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

Only seven of the 83 FAI delegates who took part in the vote opposed the resolution, and another two abstained, The Guardian reported.

A procedure seeking Israel’s exclusion from UEFA was halted after the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza last month.

FAI said it intended to “submit a formal motion to the Uefa executive committee requesting the immediate suspension of the Israel Football Association from Uefa competitions due to its violating two independent provisions of the Uefa statutes,” RTÉ, Ireland’s national broadcaster, reported.

In September, the heads of the Turkish and Norwegian soccer governing bodies called for Israel to be suspended from international competitions.

A ban on Israel may put UEFA on a collision course with the U.S. government. The United States is a co-host for the 2026 World Cup and strongly opposes boycotts on Israel.

Ireland has one of the European Union’s most hostile stances on Israel.

Israel has accused Dublin of singling out the Jewish state and aligning with extremist narratives, as bilateral relations have grown increasingly strained after Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, triggering a regional war.

In December, Israel closed its embassy in Dublin, accusing Ireland of double standards and dehumanizing Israelis.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar at the time denounced former Irish President Michael D. Higgins as an “antisemitic liar” after Higgins during a Holocaust Remembrance Day speech criticized Israeli actions.

Last month, Catherine Connolly, a far-left independent politician who has called Israel a “terrorist state,” was elected as his successor.

Ireland in June joined eight other member states—Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden—in asking the European Commission, the E.U.’s executive arm, to see how Israeli goods “can be brought into line with international law.”

Ireland’s parliament is preparing to vote on a bill that outlaws the import and sale in Ireland of Israeli-made products from Judea and Samaria.

If passed, the law would make Ireland the first E.U. member state with such a ban.

In April, Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said in a report that Ireland, along with Spain and South Africa, were “countries that enable antisemitism through their selective criticism of Israel and abuse of the language of human rights.”