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\n David Sneyd<\/p>\n
The 42 <\/p>\n
THIS WAS ALWAYS going to be an international window with a difference for the Republic of Ireland, but when Israel were pulled out of the hat alongside them in Group B3 of the Nations League last February, the FAI was faced with its worst-case scenario.<\/p>\n
Chief executive David Courell confirmed in a media briefing on Friday that the association never asked Uefa for the countries be kept apart before the draw and that it was only subsequently that they formalised such a request.<\/p>\n
Uefa rejected it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe answer I got was very clear. That would not be possible, because Ireland and Israel have never been in direct conflict. That was an answer that I took at face value,\u201d Courell said.<\/p>\n
This is the first four-game international window for the Republic of Ireland and two of the fixtures with Israel will dominate discussion. A trip to play Kosovo in Pristina on 24 September followed by the visit of Austria to Dublin on 1 October pale into insignificance given the depth of feeling and emotion surrounding the decision to fulfil these games with Israel.<\/p>\n
So what has been the timeline to get to this point?<\/p>\n
November 2025: Members of the FAI\u2019s General Assembly voted 74 to 7 in favour of submitting a motion to Uefa to ban Israel from its club and international competitions.
The proposal cited two alleged violations of Uefa statutes by the Israel Football Association (IFA). They were organising clubs in occupied Palestinian territories without the consent of the Palestinian FA; and the alleged failure of the IFA to enforce an effective anti-racism policy.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, FAI president Paul Cooke revealed he contacted his counterparts at the Israeli FA before the EGM vote \u201cout of courtesy and respect\u201d and when asked what would happen in a hypothetical situation should the countries be drawn together, he said: \u201cStraight off the bat, we would play them, provided it was part of a UEFA competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, that became a reality.<\/p>\n
February 2026: One month after the FAI wrote to its General Assembly confirming Uefa had rejected its motion, citing its \u201ccommitment to fairness, integrity and equal treatment across all member associations\u201d, Ireland and Israel were paired alongside Kosovo and Austria.<\/p>\n
It was the catalyst for increased political and societal focus.<\/p>\n
May and June 2026:\u00a0Stop The Game protest group temporarily halts the friendly with Qatar in Dublin by throwing tennis balls on the pitch. The FAI cites \u201coperational challenges\u201d as the reason for deciding to move the home game with Israel from the Aviva Stadium to Backa Topola, 90 minutes from Belgrade, in Serbia. The 42 revealed earlier this month that Uefa provided a shortlist of venues to choose from and all were based in Serbia. This game will take place on 4 October while Israel\u2019s designated home game will be in Debrecen, Hungary, as Uefa have not allowed them to play on home soil for security reasons since 2023.<\/p>\n
July 2026: This was a key moment for the FAI. While the initial motion \u2013 proposed by Bohemians among others \u2013 sought an outright boycott of Israel, this was deemed to be in conflict with FAI rules.<\/p>\n
Instead, at an EGM, a motion was tabled by the association\u2019s board calling for members to support the decision to play Israel at neutral venues, to endorse playing all of their Nations League fixtures, and did not mention Israel outright but instead \u201cthe strength of feeling regarding support for Palestine\u201d.<\/p>\n
The FAI also wrote a letter of more than 2,000 words to its General Assembly prior to the EGM predicting that not fulfilling the fixtures would cost the FAI a minimum of \u20ac5.5 million, potentially rising to double that in the medium to long term.<\/p>\n
The motion to fulfil the fixtures passed 75 votes to 32, with three abstentions.<\/p>\n
And then we arrived at this past week. On Monday, FAI director of football John Martin said it was on his shoulders \u2013 as well as Courell\u2019s \u2013 that the decision to play the game rests.<\/p>\n