The Louth/East Meath TD was commenting after Ireland was drawn to play against Austria, Kosovo and Israel in the Nations League on Thursday
Irish football fans with a message. INPHO/Ryan Byrne(Image: INPHO/Ryan Byrne)
Sinn Féin TD and Drogheda United chairperson Joanna Byrne has urged Ireland not to play Israel in the UEFA Nations League.
The Louth/East Meath TD was commenting after Ireland was drawn to play against Austria, Kosovo and Israel in the Nations League on Thursday.
In a statement, the Sinn Féin spokesperson on Culture, Communications and Sport said that UEFA should have expelled Israel after its “genocidal, ethnic cleansing mission” in Gaza, saying double standards exist after Russia was expelled in 2022 following their invasion of Ukraine.
“In November, the FAI voted to submit a motion to UEFA to ban Israel from its European club and international competitions. That was the correct moral and principled position to take,” she said.
“Therefore, I am extremely angry and dismayed that the FAI have confirmed they will play against Israel.
“It appears that their morals, and principled position, was only on paper – not in actions where it counts. Israel should not be in this competition.”
Sinn Féin TD and Drogheda United chairperson Joanna Byrne
She continued: “UEFA should have expelled them as soon as Israel went into Gaza on a genocidal, ethnic cleansing mission that has seen tens of thousands of innocents murdered, including hundreds of sports men and women.
“There are double standards here from UEFA. Russia was expelled from all club and international competitions by UEFA in 2022 following their brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine. The same principle should be applied to Israel.
“I hope the FAI knows the furore that will be coming for them from the Irish football fans – the vast vast majority will not want to see our Boys In Green in the same stadium as the Israeli team.
“I have said it before when I was asked about Israel’s participation in Eurovision and in other sporting fixtures and I will repeat it again now: Israel is an apartheid state who have engaged in ethnic cleansing and genocide. Their behaviour cannot be accepted or normalised.
“They should be treated the same as Apartheid South Africa was, and be banned and boycotted by all.”
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