The Republic of Ireland said they will fulfil their Nations League fixtures against Israel in the autumn despite calling for the country to be banned by UEFA last year.
In November, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) approved a motion calling for Israel to be banned from UEFA over the military assault on Gaza, but this was rejected.
The countries were drawn together in Group B3 of the Nations League on Thursday and the FAI immediately issued a statement confirming the matches would go ahead.
Editor’s Picks
1 Related
“In 2025, a motion was proposed by members of the FAI General Assembly to vote on issuing a formal request to the UEFA executive committee for the immediate suspension of the Israel Football Association from UEFA competitions for a breach of UEFA statutes,” the FAI wrote.
“Members then voted in favour to submit the motion to UEFA, which the association did in November 2025.
“While consultation has taken place with UEFA officials, the association does recognise that UEFA regulations outline that if an association refuses to play a match then that fixture will be forfeited and further disciplinary measures may follow — including potential disqualification from the competition.”
The matches will be highly charged politically, with support for the Palestinian cause historically strong in Ireland.
Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said on Thursday that he stands by comments he made last year questioning why Israel had not been banned from football.
The Icelandic coach said last October he could not understand why Russia had been banned by FIFA and UEFA after the country’s invasion of Ukraine while Israel were allowed to play on despite the military assault on Gaza.
Asked about those remarks at the Nations League draw in Brussels, Hallgrimsson said: “I stand by that. But it’s not my decision if you play or not against them or what decision is taken on a higher level.
“I am the head coach. I need to focus on the football thing. I hope when we play them, the supporters will support Ireland and support us to do good when we play against them.”
Hallgrimsson said it would be a decision for individual players whether they felt comfortable to play in the matches against Israel.
“There’s going to be probably a lot written about other things than football but I need to be focused on, for me and the players, the football side,” he said.
“It’s every player’s decision to play for the national team or not.”
Asked if he was surprised UEFA had not suspended Israel, Hallgrimsson added: “It’s better for me not to be expressing opinions on this, because it’s not [a decision] taken at my level.
“Everything else is taken on a higher level so I’m just going to focus on the football side.”
Ireland’s other opponents in their Nations League group are Austria and Kosovo.