‘Playing against genocide’: Irish comedian, activist urges boycott of Israel fixture over Gaza war

Campaigners accuse Football Association of Ireland of failing to represent Irish supporters and call on players to take a stand

Irish comedian and activist Tadhg Hickey has urged Ireland’s footballers to boycott an upcoming fixture against Israel over the Gaza war, saying the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has failed to provide leadership over a match that has sparked growing opposition.

Speaking to Anadolu, Hickey said the FAI had left the decision to the players and noted that the majority of people in Ireland supported a boycott.

“But the FAI has really lacked leadership. They’ve left it up to the players. We’re so close to Ireland taking this first step, like in a sporting boycott,” Hickey said.

“The latest thing we hear in the press conference is that they’ve taken a poll of the players, and a majority of the players have decided that they want to fulfill the fixture. We just don’t know what the circumstances were for that poll,” he added.

The Republic of Ireland confirmed the UEFA Nations League game against Israel to be played in Debrecen, Hungary, on Sunday will go ahead despite having “different views.”

“The 2026-27 UEFA Nations League fixtures against Israel will be fulfilled,” the Football Association of Ireland confirmed in a statement on Saturday.

“The association made this decision following consultation with the Republic of Ireland players who shared different views and a majority expressed that the fixtures should be played. The association respects the views of all players involved and appreciates the level of sensitivity concerning these fixtures,” it said.

According to Irish media reports, several players, including goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, requested to withdraw from the match against Israel.

The fixture has also become the focus of the Stop The Game campaign, organized by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine. The campaign has called on Ireland’s players to withdraw as Israel’s ongoing genocidal attacks on Gaza continue.

A spokesperson for Stop The Game, Shane Moore, said the campaign believed there was still a possibility that the match could be canceled and that pressure on the FAI and the players would continue.

“If these games go ahead, which there is a strong chance now that they won’t, because there is growing, and there has been growing momentum for quite some time,” the spokesperson said.

‘Football Association of Ireland is an absolute disgrace’

The campaign has also criticized arrangements for supporters. Moore told Anadolu that Irish fans had not been allocated tickets while Israeli supporters would be able to attend.

“You know the game is locked down for Irish fans. Israeli fans, on the other hand, can go. They’re being allocated tickets, but the FAI, the Football Association of Ireland, who was an absolute disgrace, and it has not allocated the Irish fans any tickets,” Moore said. “So Irish fans won’t be there.”

Moore also questioned the choice of venues in Hungary and Serbia, saying that both locations had significant links with Israel. They cited the presence of Israeli students at educational institutions and flight connections between Israel and the cities.

“So that just shows how there are strong Israeli ties,” he said.

The claims about the venues and travel connections were not independently substantiated in the interview.

Hickey said he believed goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu had taken a principled decision by withdrawing from the squad.

“I still believe one of the Ireland players, Gavin Bazunu, has pulled out of the squad, a conscientious objector, effectively, and said he won’t play,” he said. “I just, you know what? My heart won’t allow me to believe that more players won’t follow him.”

‘If Ireland doesn’t take the stand now, I worry the stand is not going to be taken’

Moore also praised Bazunu, calling him “a hero” and claiming that at least six other players had voted against playing the fixture.

“Gavin Bazunu, the only man in the Irish team with strong ethical morals, a Black Irish man, stood up against genocide, and there’s huge credit and support. He’s a hero. He is a hero in this country,” Moore said.

Hickey also said the controversy was particularly significant given Ireland’s political history and its support for Palestinians.

“I just can’t accept in the tradition of Ireland as a country that’s sort of bound up in solidarity and people sticking together and fighting back against bullies and oppressors,” he said.

“This is exactly what Israel is. Like it’s an international bully, and it has sort of bully bodies all around the world in high places.”

“We’ve just seen a press conference where the Irish coach is being grilled by Zionist journalists asking him questions about Nazi Germany, and effectively, does he condemn Hamas?” Hickey said. “If it wasn’t so horrific, if it wasn’t so wrong, it would be absurdly humorous that we’re in this position.”

“I would say, understand the sentiment in Ireland, and he had to qualify and sort of explain why he used the word genocide to a Zionist journalist. Like these people are laughing at us. They’re laughing at us, and I think if Ireland doesn’t take the stand now, I worry the stand is not going to be taken,” he noted.

He said the international attention surrounding the fixture risked placing the players under considerable pressure.

“And if the players do fulfill this fixture, aside from the moral argument, can you imagine the state of mind they’re going to be in?” Hickey said. “The whole global attention is on them now, which it never should be.”

Hickey urged supporters to continue backing the Stop The Game campaign before the fixture.

The Stop The Game spokesperson, Moore, said the campaign would continue to pressure the FAI and players, adding: “We call on the players to make the right stand, and if they do, they will be treated as the heroes that they deserve to be.”

“If the game, as I said, goes ahead, which I certainly hope it doesn’t, we will be playing Austria next week at home. Who knows what will happen then,” Moore said.

Playing ‘against genocide’

Republic of Ireland midfielder Jason Knight had become the first national team player to publicly say that the country should not play its upcoming UEFA Nations League match against Israel.

“I don’t think the game should be going ahead, but it is going ahead,” he said.

The 25-year-old Bristol City midfielder said the squad would hold more detailed discussions before deciding how to approach Sunday’s match in Hungary.

More than 160 Irish athletes have signed an open letter urging the national team not to play, while the Stop The Game campaign has organized demonstrations demanding Israel’s suspension from international football.

Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson previously said some players felt “really uncomfortable” about the matches and described the team as playing “against genocide,” prompting a sharp response from the Israeli Football Association.

The first match will take place at the Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen on Sunday. The return fixture, officially Ireland’s home game, has been moved from Dublin to Backa Topola, Serbia, and will be played behind closed doors on Oct. 4.