Bohemian Football Club, FairSquare and Irish Sport for Palestine have written to UEFA requesting the immediate suspension of the Israel Football Association (IFA) from UEFA competitions due to serious, ongoing breaches of UEFA and FIFA statutes.
The organisations’ submission sets out two independent and longstanding grounds, each sufficient on its own to trigger suspension:
- Matches in illegal settlements (FIFA Statutes): FIFA’s statutes prohibit member associations and their clubs from playing on the territory of another member association without that association’s approval (Article 64(2)). Israeli clubs based in illegal West Bank settlements continue to play under the IFA within the territory of the Palestinian Football Association, without the PFA’s consent and thus contrary to this rule. UEFA, as a confederation, is obliged to comply with and enforce FIFA statutes and decisions (Article 22(3)).
- Racism and discriminatory conduct (UEFA obligations): UEFA’s statutes require each member association to “implement an effective policy aimed at eradicating racism and any other forms of discrimination from football” and to ensure strict sanctions for such behaviour (Article 7 bis (7)). Evidence of persistent anti-Palestinian racist chanting and incitement to violence by organised supporter groups demonstrates a failure by the IFA to implement and enforce such a policy. Related UEFA disciplinary and licensing rules reinforce this obligation.
This request is made against a grave humanitarian backdrop. On 16 September 2025, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israeli authorities are committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. Separately, on 22 August 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed Famine (Phase 5) in Gaza Governorate. These determinations, which cannot be delinked from the statutory violations of which the IFA is culpable, underscore the urgency of applying football’s rules consistently and without discrimination.
UEFA itself has recently highlighted the protection of children and civilians affected by war, displaying a pitch-side banner reading “Stop Killing Children. Stop Killing Civilians” at the 2025 UEFA Super Cup in Udine and involving refugee children from conflict zones, including Palestine, in the ceremony. Upholding the statutes is a necessary complement to such humanitarian messaging.
A democratic route for European football to act
The coalition hopes to empower supporters and clubs to use the democratic structures of football to press for action. In Ireland, this will begin with a motion at the forthcoming FAI General Assembly, seeking to mandate the Association to bring forward a suspension motion to UEFA’s Executive Committee. By anchoring the campaign in football’s own governance framework, the organisations aim to ensure that supporters’ voices are heard and that UEFA is held to account on its statutory obligations.
“Rules exist to protect fairness and ensure basic decency. UEFA can and should suspend the IFA with immediate effect. By not doing so they are not only doing a grave disservice to football, but also to the core principles of humanity itself”, said a spokesperson for Bohemian FC.
“The horrific images and stories from Gaza make the horrific images and stories from Gaza make the moral and ethical case for the suspension of Israeli teams from competition, but there are also clear and straightforward statutory rules that give FIFA and UEFA cause to act. They each possess influence and responsibility to apply meaningful pressure and should do so immediately,” said a spokesperson for FairSquare.
“Supporters across Europe deserve a voice. We’re building a law-anchored, democratic pathway – through national FAs to UEFA – to ensure football does not look away and encourage clubs, fan groups and national associations to do likewise and encourage clubs, fan groups and national associations to do likewise,” said a spokesperson for Irish Sport for Palestine.
Bohemian Football Club is a fan-owned club based at Dalymount Park, Dublin, fielding senior men’s and women’s teams in the League of Ireland Premier Divisions. In May 2024, Bohemians hosted the first European fixture for a Palestinian national team, when the Bohs women’s team played a friendly against the Palestinian National Women’s Team. Off the pitch, Bohemians confront discrimination in all its forms and invest in inclusive community development, using football as a force for good.
Irish Sport for Palestine is a collective of Irish sportspeople and supporters who bring sporting communities together to back the struggle of Palestinian communities for freedom, justice and equality—egalitarian, anti-sectarian and anti-racist in ethos.
