Opposition backs calls to cancel Ireland-Israel match

Ireland's main opposition parties are uniting to call for the cancellation of the senior men's football international match against Israel. Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, and Labour have confirmed they will back Dáil motions next week demanding the game be called off.

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there is no support for the Irish soccer team to play under our tricolour... it would be unconscionable and unspeakable.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald stated that her party will table a motion on Tuesday, arguing it would be "unconscionable and unspeakable" to play under the Irish flag while "a genocide takes place." She emphasized that the match should not proceed even in a neutral venue, asserting that "no one should be playing the Israeli football team."

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no one should be playing the Israeli football team.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik echoed this sentiment, stating her party has "consistently said this game should not go ahead" due to "grave and serious violations of international law" and the "genocide in Gaza." The Social Democrats' TD Sinead Gibney agreed, calling the potential match "far from symbolic" given the "absolute devastation broadcast on our screens" over the past two and a half years.

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has consistently said this game should not go ahead

Taoiseach Micheál Martin acknowledged the challenging nature of the issue. He expressed concern that canceling the match could jeopardize Ireland's future qualification prospects in football. "I don't think we should always reduce the issue to one particular game or one particular event," he remarked. The government will vote on the motions once they are presented in full.

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it's far from symbolic, we've had two and a half years of absolute devastation broadcast on our screens.