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Ireland's football body considers neutral venue for Israel match amid pressure
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Sports

Ireland's football body considers neutral venue for Israel match amid pressure

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is considering moving an upcoming Nations League match against Israel from Dublin to a neutral venue.
  • The potential relocation is a response to growing social and political pressure concerning the ongoing conflict in Palestine.
  • Several Irish political parties and activist groups are calling for the match's cancellation or boycott, citing humanitarian concerns.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is exploring the possibility of moving the men's national team's Nations League match against Israel, scheduled for Dublin in October, to a neutral country. This consideration comes amid mounting social and political pressure within Ireland to reconsider hosting the fixture due to the situation in Palestine.

The decision to move the match to a neutral country (possibly Hungary) corresponds to the FAI and UEFA.

— Micheál MartinStating that the decision on relocating the match lies with the football associations.

The FAI has confirmed it is in discussions with UEFA regarding the matter. The Irish parliament is set to debate non-binding motions proposed by the opposition, urging the cancellation of the match and advocating for Israel's expulsion from international competitions. A citizen campaign, 'Stop the Game,' has also vowed to continue protests, demanding the suspension of both the away match in Israel and the return leg in Dublin.

Supporters of the campaign have previously disrupted matches, including throwing tennis balls onto the field during a friendly between Ireland and Qatar in May, forcing a temporary halt to play. 'Stop the Game' has also published an open letter signed by various public figures, calling for a boycott and accusing the Israeli government of committing genocide in Gaza and violating UEFA and FIFA statutes by allowing teams to play in occupied Palestinian territory.

Obviously, UEFA acted with Russia, but it has not acted with Israel. From a sporting point of view, we do not want to give advantage to anyone, but we perfectly understand that this situation is not correct.

— John O’SheaExpressing concern over the perceived difference in UEFA's response to Russia and Israel.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin stated that the decision rests with the FAI and UEFA, while cautioning that forfeiting the match could negatively impact Ireland's ranking and future draw prospects. The Irish team's assistant coach, John O'Shea, acknowledged the difficult position players are in and expressed understanding for the concerns, noting the disparity in UEFA's actions towards Russia compared to Israel. He emphasized that while avoiding sporting disadvantages is important, the current situation is "not right."

Any sanction that affects Irish football in sporting terms, such as losing matches by default, suffering administrative defeats, or giving advantage to other teams, is not correct.

— John O’SheaHighlighting the potential negative sporting consequences for Ireland if the match is boycotted or forfeited.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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