More than 160 Irish sports stars urge Ireland to boycott Israel games
More than 160 Irish sportspeople have urged the Republic of Ireland men's team to boycott their Nations League games against Israel.
The open letter, organised by the Irish Sport for Palestine Group, asks the players to "seize the moment" and refuse to play the two fixtures, RTÉ reports. Ireland are due to face Israel on 27 September in Hungary, then again on 4 October in Serbia, according to BBC. The Nations League is UEFA's competition for national teams, played between World Cups and European Championships.
The list of signatories reaches across Irish sport. It includes Olympian Ciara Mageean, former Republic of Ireland defender Louise Quinn, ex-Ireland rugby fly-half Tony Ward and boxers Tyrone McKenna and Eric Donovan. Gaelic games figures Padraig O'Hora, Joe Brolly, Colm O'Rourke, Michael Darragh Macauley, Philly McMahon, Valerie Mulcahy and Rena Buckley also signed, alongside para-athlete Alan Dineen and Stephen Jones, who both refused fixtures against Israel earlier this year.
The call adds pressure six days out from the first game. In July, the General Assembly of the Football Association of Ireland, the sport's governing body in the country, voted by 75 to 32 to go ahead with the ties, with three abstentions from 114 delegates. The FAI has warned that a boycott would cause significant and lasting harm to Irish football and could cost around 10.3 million euros.
Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has said he spoke to his squad players individually about facing Israel. None of us feel comfortable playing in these games, he said. He did not say any player would refuse to play.
Ireland had asked UEFA, European football's governing body, not to pair them with Israel in future draws. UEFA rejected that request and defended its draw policy, saying there was no history of "direct conflict" between the two, The Irish Times reports. The FAI has said it will fulfil the current fixtures after the teams were drawn together.
Broadcaster RTÉ has said it plans to cut its coverage of the two games to the bare essentials required of a rights holder. That means Irish viewers will still be able to watch, but with stripped-back presentation around the matches.
For fans picking this up, this is now about more than two results. Ireland must decide whether to play in neutral venues while former players and athletes from other sports ask the squad to take a stand. The FAI points to the vote to play and the financial risk. The players have not yet said as a group what they will do.
