Ireland’s UEFA Nations league match against Israel scheduled for October 4th, 2026, will go ahead in the Aviva Stadium after Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly promised the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) a “safe and secure environment” for the game to take place.
Kelly also stated that there will be “significant resources” deployed for the game due to the protests expected to take place surrounding the fixture. “There are going to be challenges to it, but that’s our job, to deal with these challenges in An Garda Síochána,” he said.
In response to pressure from fans to boycott the fixture, the FAI CEO, David Courell, said that Ireland has “no choice” but for the games to be played due to the threat of sanctions from European football’s governing body, UEFA. The FAI reiterated their stance on the conflict, but said they feel that they are acting in the best interests of Irish football.
February 12th in Brussels saw Ireland drawn against Kosovo, Austria and Israel in Group B3 of the UEFA Nations League, sparking controversy due to Ireland and the FAI’s support of Palestine in the current conflict. The FAI also passed a vote in November 2025 which sought to have Israel banned from UEFA competitions due to breach of UEFA rules. The FAI stated that the Israeli FA did not implement anti-racism policies and allowed Israeli clubs to play in settlement areas in the West Bank, which is in breach of UEFA Regulations.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that he believes the game should go ahead, and urged people to separate the government of Israel from its people. Former Ireland manager Brian Kerr, however, stated on Virgin Media that separating football and politics was “baloney” and that this is an opportunity for the FAI to make a stance for the Palestinian people.
After the draw took place, District Magazine published a poll in which they had asked whether people thought Ireland should boycott the Israel match. The poll received 2,114 responses, with 91 per cent of those polled answering “yes”. The poll shows the clear disparity between the FAI and the fan position when it comes to this fixture being held.
After reaching out to two students who both attend Ireland games regularly, both students stated that they felt the fixture should not go ahead between the two nations and a full boycott should take place despite any sanctions that UEFA may enforce: “Personally I don’t think Israel should be allowed to play football, just like the Russian FA have been banned from competing”. Both also said that they will not attend the game or watch it on television, however only one of the two students said that they would attend a potential protest regarding the fixture saying that they “Personally don’t believe protests serve much purpose”, but they stated that they “will not be watching the game or have anything to do with it.”