Irish Athletes Urge Boycott Against Israel

Emmet Lyons, Reporter at CBS News

Over 160 Irish athletes have requested the Republic of Ireland men’s soccer team to boycott an upcoming international match against Israel amid ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two countries. The Republic of Ireland team is scheduled to play Israel twice in the coming weeks as part of the UEFA Nations League qualifying games—first in Hungary on September 27, and then in Serbia on October 4. These games are set to occur without fans in neutral venues, following protests by players and supporters in Ireland concerning the civilian death toll in Gaza.

The activist group Irish Sport for Palestine stated on social media that over 160 Irish sportspeople signed a letter imploring the Irish senior men’s soccer team to act with conscience and refuse to participate in the matches against Israel.

“We are not playing with genocide, we are playing against genocide,” Hallgrímsson remarked.

The Israeli Football Association strongly criticized Irish head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson for comments made at a press conference last week. When asked by reporters about player morale ahead of the games, Hallgrímsson responded, “We are playing against Israel; we are not playing with Israel.” In protest, Irish supporters displayed “Show Israel the red card” banners at a previous World Cup qualifying match against Hungary.

Following Hallgrímsson’s remarks, the Israeli Football Association issued a social media post rebuking him. They highlighted Israel’s contributions to humanity and criticized the comments as “stupidity, ignorance, and hypocrisy.”

Diplomatic Strains Between Ireland and Israel

The Irish government has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, with diplomatic tension escalating over the last two years. Israel closed its embassy in Dublin in December 2024, citing Ireland’s “extreme anti-Israel policies,” as stated by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. Saar accused Ireland of antisemitic rhetoric and fostering an environment of de-legitimisation and demonisation of Israel.

This decision came after Ireland backed South Africa’s legal action against Israel in the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Ireland formally joined South Africa’s legal case against Israel at the ICJ.

Last year, members of the Irish football association voted to request UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, to suspend Israel from its tournaments. However, the Football Association Ireland announced that the Irish men’s soccer team would continue to play Israel in the UEFA qualifying matches. The association underscored the importance of fulfilling UEFA obligations due to the profound and far-reaching impact any disruptions would have on Irish football’s future development.