Why are Republic of Ireland playing against Israel? | OneFootball

Ahead of the Uefa Nations League draw in Brussels back in February, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) were already preparing themselves for the worst. With the Republic of Ireland sitting in Pot 3 of the League B draw, they knew one of their four potential opponents from Pot 1 posed a far greater political and logistical headache than the others – the true scale of which the FAI are facing now. The Republic landed in Group B3 along with top seeds Israel, as well as Austria and Kosovo. Within minutes, the FAI confirmed they would fulfil both home and away fixtures against Israel, neither of which will take place in Ireland, or in Israel.

Instead, Ireland will head to Debrecen, Hungary for their away game against Israel on 27 September, followed by their ‘home’ game against Israel behind closed doors in the small Serbian town of Backa Topola on 4 October. But while the FAI may have hoped that moving the fixture from Dublin to a neutral site in the Serbian countryside, 1,500 miles away, without spectators, removed the issue from the Irish consciousness, the question that has raged since February has been why Ireland are playing Israel at all. Calls to boycott both fixtures against a country found by the United Nations independent international commission of committing of genocide in Gaza have grown to the point that the upcoming double-header may be the most-discussed set of football matches involving the Republic of Ireland in recent memory.

Tensions were raised further on Monday evening following comments made by the Republic of Ireland head coach last week. “We're not playing with genocide, we're playing against genocide,” Heimir Hallgrimsson said when asked about the position his players are in ahead of the two fixtures. “We're playing against Israel, we're not playing with Israel.” The Israeli government has vehemently denied the charges of genocide since their retaliation to the October 7 attacks almost three years ago, when about 1,200 people were killed by Hamas and 250 people were taken hostage. Over 70,000 Palestinians have since been killed in the war in Gaza, according to figures used by the United Nations. The Israel Football Association subsequently accused Hallgrimsson of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy”.

Meanwhile, protestors gathered outside the Irish team hotel in Dublin on Monday night as part of the “Stop the Game” campaign. The fallout from Ed Sheeran’s ongoing Loop tour, after rapper Macklemore was dropped for calling out “free Palestine” during a show, has perhaps illustrated the strength of feeling. Two of the support acts who showed solidarity for Macklemore by withdrawing from Sheeran’s tour – the singer Aaron Rowe and folk band Beoga – are Irish, and have offered a rather timely reminder that standing by and doing nothing is a choice in itself. Kevin Kilbane, the former Republic of Ireland player who made 110 international appearances, wrote in the Irish Times on Monday that the decision to fulfil the fixtures will leave a “stain” on the FAI. “Ireland should not be playing Israel. Not in Dublin, not in Hungary and definitely not a ‘home’ match in Serbia,” Kilbane said.

Despite writing to Uefa’s Executive Committee in November calling for the immediate suspension of the Israel Football Association, the FAI said refusing to play Israel in the Nations League would have a “profound impact on the whole of Irish football”, arguing that forfeiting Nations League points could weaken their chances of qualifying for Euro 2028, when they will be co-hosts, as well as future World Cups. While Uefa and Fifa moved to suspend Russia from international football within days of their invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Israel have continued to compete in Uefa and Fifa competitions since their response to October 7. Uefa were expected to hold a vote on the issue last year but paused plans following reports of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. More than 1,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed ‌in Gaza since then, according to health officials, with Hamas and Israel accusing each other of violating the agreement.

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The Republic of Ireland's match with Qatar in May was interrupted by a tennis ball protest (Getty)

So far, no European country has taken the step of boycotting a match against Israel. There were protests and pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the streets of Oslo and Udine before Israel played World Cup qualifiers in Norway and Italy last season, but neither country risked World Cup qualification by forfeiting the match. “A boycott would only result in Israel going to the World Cup instead of us,” said Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation. Earlier this month, the FAI chief executive David Courell confirmed a request had been made to Uefa to separate the Republic of Ireland from Israel in future draws, but said the request was denied because the two countries have “never been in direct conflict”.

A spokesperson from European football’s governing body said: “Decisions to avoid certain teams being drawn against each other are made taking into consideration several factors, especially conditions between the two countries leading to structural risks for security. Uefa handles every situation very carefully on its own merits and monitors all facts and developments.”

Uefa, though, did approve a request from the FAI to relocate their home fixture against Israel away from Dublin on 4 October, accepting to grant the move to a neutral venue “for reasons of safety”, while there are no tickets available for Irish supporters for the away game in Hungary, either. RTE, the Republic’s public service broadcaster, has confirmed that it will only provided stripped back coverage of the two games, with no studio presentation or punditry and commentary to be taken from the international feed. But despite the empty stands and the bare presentation, the games will not be taking place in a vacuum. Back in Ireland, the opposition to the fixtures has already been loud and clear.