Irish Sport for Palestine: FAI voting to proceed with Israel matches "does not reflect the will of Irish football, Irish fans or the Irish public"

Irish Sport for Palestine has issued a statement regarding the Football Association of Ireland’s (FAI) motion for the Republic of Ireland to play upcoming Nations League games against Israel.

“FAI motion passes but does not reflect the will of Irish football, Irish fans or the Irish public … The Stop the [Game] Campaign remains resolute that Ireland will not play Israel in the Nations League Championship,” read the statement released on their Instagram this morning.

Irish Sport for Palestine holds that 64% of professional players and 76% of the public support a boycott.

“568 Palestinian players have been killed while FIFA stayed silent. Players have been detained. Sports grounds have been bulldozed,” Irish Sport for Palestine wrote.

The FAI motion passed at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday with 75 delegates voting in favor (68%), 32 against and three abstentions.

Protesters of the games have shown their disapproval in numerous demonstrations in the past months, including their protest outside the EGM on Wednesday, as the meeting took place and, earlier this year, a protest outside the Dáil.

The EGM came after more than 10% of the FAI’s members opposed playing the Nations League games. The FAI motion acknowledged the strong support for Palestine but asked members to “recognise the profound impact that any non-fulfilment of Uefa fixtures would have on Irish football as a whole and on its future development.”

The FAI previously said boycotting the games would lead to a potential loss of €10.3 million.

Irish Sport for Palestine said they "respect the secret ballot" but remain skeptical about how the vote was brought forward, citing various "governance issues" of the FAI, including "denial of an initial request for proper debate on the match, the failure to address the questions brought by co-proposers before requisitions were sent, the three week delay between receipt of requisitions and them being deemed ineligible, the wording of the motion and the misrepresentation of the PFA's position."

The games are scheduled for September 27 in Debrecen, Hungary for the “away” tie, before the return “home” fixture on October 4 in Backa Topola, Serbia. Both venues for the games are considered "neutral."

In an interview last month with Hot Press, Chief Operating Officer of Bohemians FC and member of the Stop the Game campaign, Daniel Lambert, described the situation as “total hypocrisy.”

“Israel is practising apartheid. The Irish government’s position is that Israel is practising apartheid. We are going to ignore that, but we are going to adhere to the rules of this competition. It’s total nonsense.”

 

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