The Minister has painted a dark picture for what the future would look like for Irish sport on the International stage should this game not go ahead.
10:50, 12 Jun 2026Updated 11:23, 12 Jun 2026
A view of the Ireland jerseys in the changing room(Image: Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Martin Seras Lima)
The Minister of State with special responsibility for Sport has claimed that Ireland would be banned from the 2028 Olympic Games if motions put forward by the opposition are accepted in the Dáíl.
In recent days, a number of motions have been tabled by opposition parties calling on the government to support a boycott of the UEFA Nations League clash between Ireland and Israel in September. The FAI confirmed on Friday that the match would be played at a neutral venue.
Campaign groups have called for the game to be boycotted, with protesters making their feelings clear by throwing tennis balls onto the pitch during Ireland’s friendly with Qatar at the Aviva Stadium last month.
Sinn Féin have backed the movement for the game to be boycotted, while the Social Democrats have called for Israel to be banned from International sport as punishment for the ongoing situation in Gaza, where more than 70,000 Palestinians have died in a campaign which the UN Commission of Inquiry has deemed to be a genocide.
The Government rebuked suggestions that they should intervene, and they continue to pedal the line that the issue is for the FAI and soccer authorities to deal with.
The motions put forward by the opposition were defeated on a count of 81-68 in the Dáil on Wednesday evening.
On Thursday, Minister for Sport Charlie McConalogue was asked why it was okay for his colleague Patrick O’Donovan to say he wouldn’t attend the game, yet the men’s soccer team have to ‘shoulder the burden’ of fulfilling the fixture.
In response, Mr McConalogue issued a stark warning about Ireland’s future on the World’s sporting stage should the game with Israel not go ahead: “Well-established principle internationally that sporting organisations and federations internationally are responsible for the conduct of sport.”
Continuing, he said: “It’s UEFA at a European level, and FIFAat the world level, who decide and make policy decisions in relation to whether or not teams and countries participate in competition.”
As for a boycott, he believed it “would ultimately mean Irish athletes would not participate in international sports competitions in which Israel is also participating.
“For example, this would ultimately mean we would not be in a position to have any athletes participating in the next LA Olympics.”