Irish FA passes vote seeking UEFA ban on Israel from European competition

The Football Association of Ireland’s general assembly has passed a motion mandating the association to call on UEFA to suspend Israel from the European competition.

The motion was overwhelmingly approved at an emergency general meeting on Saturday, with 74 votes in favour, seven against, and two abstentions. It required support from more than 50 per cent of delegates in order to pass.

A statement from the FAI said the motion required it 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”.

The statement described those violations as the “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)” and “the failure of the IFA to implement and enforce an effective anti-racism policy, in breach of UEFA statutes (Article 7bis).”

Dublin-based club Bohemian FC tabled the motion, which was co-signed by Shamrock Rovers, Shelbourne, Cork City, PFA Ireland and a number of supporter groups.

Bohemian club chief operating officer, Daniel Lambert, is also the manager of notorious Irish band Kneecap, whose member  Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, (who performs under the stage name of Mo Chara), was accused of waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in Kentish Town in 2024.

The terrorism case was thrown out by the presiding magistrate, after permission was granted a day too late in giving permission for the prosecution to be taken forward.

A band member was also alleged to have shouted “up Hamas, up Hezbollah”.

On 7 October 2023, Lambert tweeted in support of what he described as “resistance at an unprecedented level”.

In a statement, Bohemian said: “Bohemian 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.

“Bohemian 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, Bohemian 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 that was brokered by the United States.