Band’s ‘H.O.O.D.’ played during Ireland’s game against Hungary last weekend
“It was the most apt track that could have been played against Hungary –which it was – given Orbán’s fascist decision to ban Kneecap from Hungary for three years,” Kneecap manager Daniel Lambert told the Sunday World.
Right wing PM Orbán, who is seen as being sympathetic to Russian dictator Vladmir Putin and a fly in the ointment among EU leaders, attended the 2-2 game in Dublin’s Aviva stadium in a private capacity.
The Belfast band was supposed to perform at the Sziget Festival in Budapest in August, but were banned by Hungarian authorities following controversy about their anti-Israel stance.
Threat
Hungarian Secretary of State for international communication Zoltan Kovacs alleged that the northern rap group “repeatedly engage in anti-Semitic hate speech supporting terrorism and terrorist groups” on social media.
Hungary’s PM Viktor Orbán was a guest at the Ireland v Hungary match last week
Kovacs also said: “Hungary has zero tolerance for anti-semitism in any form.
“Their planned performance posed a national security threat, and for this reason, the group has been formally banned from Hungary for three years.
“If they enter, expulsion will follow under international norms.”
Kneecap retorted: “There is no legal basis for his actions, no member of Kneecap has ever been convicted of a crime in any country.”
The controversial trio have also maintained they never supported Hamas or Hezbollah.
“To the tens of thousands of fans who we were buzzing to see us in person at Sziget, we’re sorry we won’t be with you,” the band said in a statement.
“It’s clear this is political distraction and a further attempt to silence those who call out genocide against the Palestinian people.”
Orbán’s government also recently came under fire from other EU countries after they banned the annual Gay Pride march in June in Budapest, with more than 200,000 people turning up in defiance in what was seen as an anti-government protest.
The group’s hit single H.O.O.D. was blasted out by RTÉ before and after the break in last weekend’s game in Dublin.
While the lyrics to the song are mostly in Irish, it includes the lines ‘Tiocfaidh ár lá, get the Brits out lad, a one way ticket please, I’ve lost my bus pass’ and ‘Who’s the most violent person you know except Arlene?’, which is believed to be a reference to former DUP leader Arlene Foster.
Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who is known as Mo Chara, has appeared at two court sessions in London for after allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah at a London gig.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah are banned in the UK and it is a crime to express support for them.
He was released on unconditional bail and has since pointed out that he holds aloft numerous items thrown on stage, not just a Hezbollah flag.
Elapsed
A decision on whether he will stand trial is due on September 26, with his lawyers arguing the time period of over six months before he could be charged had elapsed.
British authorities launched a criminal investigation into comments made on stage by the band after their performance at Glastonbury in June, but decided no further action would be taken.
Action from last week’s Ireland v Hungary match
Despite calls from several British politicians, including British PM Keir Starmer, for the band to be dropped at Glastonbury the band were allowed play by organisers, with huge crowds lapping up their Saturday afternoon show.
They also drew the biggest crowd at the recent Electric Picnic festival in Co Laois.
The group, which was formed in 2017 by musicians who go by the stage names of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí, has previously been in conflict with RTÉ over their music.
RTÉ owned Raidió na Gaeltachta banned the Kneecap song “C.E.A.R.T.A.” from its playlist in late 2017, citing reasons such as drug references, cursing, and the song’s explicit content and violent references.
RTÉ stated that the decision was based on the song’s content and its inappropriateness for a pre-watershed broadcast.
The band, however, defended the song as a satirical portrayal of life in west Belfast, aiming to break stereotypes – but they also noted that RTÉ’s reasoning was based on explicit content rather than the artists or the Irish language itself.
They have since referenced the station in performances by singing ‘ná focan éist le RTÉ ‘ (‘don’t listen to RTÉ’).
Irish rap group Kneecap. Photo: Getty Images
News in 90 Seconds – Monday, September 15