There have been calls for the FAI to cancel games against Israel after Ireland was pulled in the same group
Taoiseach Micheal Martin.(Image: NurPhoto, NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Football matches between Ireland and Israel should go ahead, the Taoiseach said, as he warned that there is no boycott against the country.
There have been calls for the FAI to cancel games against the country after Ireland was drawn into the same group alongside Austria and Kosovo. However, the association confirmed shortly afterwards that Ireland would be fulfilling all matches within the league.
This is despite the FAI approving a motion calling for Israel to be banned from Uefa over breaches of its codes, but this was rejected. Israel’s home game is on September 27 and Republic of Ireland’s home game is on October 4.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the matches “should go ahead” and that the FAI has made the right decision. Speaking today, he said: “There is no official boycott of Israel, just to make that point.
“From an Irish perspective, we’re now focusing on peace in the Middle East. I think sport is an area that can be challenging when it crosses into the realm of politics, but here the international sporting organisation has its rules, its framework, it’s a matter for them to deal with issues like that.”
Mr Martin said he isn’t concerned about security issues when Israel play against Ireland here, and that decisions will be made to “make sure the game can take place in a secure environment”. Daniel Lambert, the chief commercial officer of Bohemians FC, who proposed the motion at the FAI general assembly, said Israel was in breach of Uefa statutes around clubs playing in occupied territories and anti-racism policies.
He told RTE’s Morning Ireland that it was “inexplicable” that Israel had not been penalised for breaches. Acknowledging potential financial implications, Mr Lambert said Ireland not playing Israel would be the “right thing to do”.
Sinn Féin TD and Drogheda United chairperson Joanna Byrne has urged Ireland not to play Israel, and said she is “extremely angry” by the FAI’s decision. She said: “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.
“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.”
Ireland’s head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said yesterday 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, and Israel were allowed to play on despite the military assault on Gaza.
Mr Hallgrimsson said it would be a decision for individual players whether they felt comfortable to play in the matches against Israel.
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