Opinion: Irish public would back strong stance by FAI on Israel fixtures

By Kevin Egan

One of the biggest bugbears of the community of soccer volunteers all across this country has been the myth that those who promote the sport of association football are somehow less Irish than their counterparts in the GAA.

Rugby has somehow engineered an exemption for itself on that front on the back of being a 32-county organisation, which is yet another testament to the unparalleled marketing talents of the IRFU. But for some reason, the absence of a cultural wing of the FAI, or perhaps the sport’s roots as a global game beloved of ‘them across the water’ has been thrown at ordinary coaches, players and followers of the sport who are no less Irish than their counterparts who wield a hurl or an O’Neill’s ball.

The subject of who is and isn’t Irish should be much more straightforward than it seems to be. Munster and Ireland rugby having to turn off replies to their social media posts congratulating Edwin Edogbo on his debut against Italy last weekend shows that there are still too many who think Irishness is a function of genetics, rather than an evolving state of mind and identity; something acquired not by either DNA or the location of the maternity ward in which each of us arrived, but by the nation and society that formed who we are as we grow up. In many cases, that moulding and development didn’t even have to happen on Irish soil, it may have come through Irish parents who were forced to leave the island for economic reasons, of which there were many.

Neither should any particular political viewpoint disbar you from being Irish; though if you proclaim to represent and serve this country, then you probably shouldn’t ignore where the people stand on certain things. When it comes to the matter of the Republic of Ireland team being drawn to play against Israel in the upcoming Nations League, then there is no doubt where the people stand.

We’ll ignore social media here since according to a study cited by the Irish Times, 71 per cent of all internet traffic in Ireland is ‘bad bots’ and there is no shortage of examples of X users with blue ticks who, shockingly, seem to fall in behind the world view of Elon Musk. Talk to people around the country, however, and the response is much more clearcut and uniform.

The only dissent comes from those who cite the view that politics and sport shouldn’t mix. Maybe they shouldn’t, but since the dawn of time, they have. From Ancient Rome where events at Circus Maximus and the Coliseum were part of a wider policy of ‘Bread and Circuses’ to keep political upheaval at bay, through to Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany hosting the 1934 World Cup and the 1936 Olympics, on through to Muhammad Ali, George Weah becoming President of Liberia, and the present day where Gianni Infantino presents Donald Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize, they are intrinsically intertwined.

And in that spirit, make no mistake about it, this was the dream draw for Israel and their wider agenda. They know that if the FAI allow the game to proceed, the game will follow UEFA rules, which will mean no symbolism in the stadium, whether that stadium is the Aviva Stadium, or a neutral venue in Europe, as looks increasingly likely. No symbolism of course aside from the Irish team and officials having to pay respect to the Israeli flag and anthem, legitimising an administration that in the opinion of Amnesty International, the UN and pretty much every human rights organisation that exists, is currently committing genocide.

If the game were to be played in Dublin, hardcore ‘ultras’ would travel to support Israel and there would be a danger of scenes similar to those which occurred when Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax Amsterdam in November 2024. A government actually concerned for their own citizens’ safety would advise them not to travel, but be assured that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government will make no such statement, as every broken fingernail of an Israel supporter would be a massive propaganda victory.

Some hotel, either voluntarily or after being pressurised behind closed doors by an Irish government that continues to live and act in fear of upsetting Donald Trump in any way, would have to accommodate the visiting team and officials.

Doing this could pose security risks for their own staff, not to mention the Gardaí and even the army who could be deployed to protect them, only for all of this to be painted across the globe as evidence of Ireland’s hatred of Jewish people, even if all they meet is perfectly peaceful protest.

And if the game were to be played abroad, that too would be deemed a declaration that players and fans of a visiting team could not be kept safe here.

Then there’s the players. This column can’t speak for anyone, though it’s worth noting the public statements on the matter of former Ireland player James McClean. What of current players who might feel the same and what of those who might not feel the same? Those who refuse to play are letting down their team, those who do will do so at the risk of alienating the Irish public for the rest of their lives.

There is no upside here, beyond avoiding as yet unknown sanctions from UEFA and FIFA. It’s hard for the FAI, an organisation that has had six interim or permanent CEOs since John Delaney’s departure in 2019, to take a long-term view. The debt held by the association is an albatross around their neck and the spectre of financial loss will be the elephant in the room when an EGM takes place, as is now a distinct possibility following discussions within the association’s General Assembly.

But this is why we go back to where people stand. No amount of short-term gain will compensate for the loss of goodwill that will follow from Ireland facilitating this propaganda coup for Israel.

Politics and sport don’t mix? Tell that to the Israeli Minister for Culture and Sport, Miki Zohar, who said at the start of this year that “Judea and Samaria is ours,” referring to the West Bank. “Gaza is also ours. We’re just letting them stay there as guests until a certain point, but Gaza is ours.”

Right now, there are three ways this can go. Either the game goes ahead, and for all the controversies involving John Delaney in his lengthy tenure at the helm of this beleaguered association, the FAI will never have been as unpopular as it will be following all the global headlines that follow on from it.

It’s more likely that the FAI will hold firm until the slow news season of the summer takes over, the World Cup comes and go and then they cave to public pressure, which will be the worst of both worlds. The financial sanctions will follow, and the public will still know that the FAI wanted to kowtow to UEFA and play the role of prop in this grotesque act of theatre.

Or maybe, CEO David Courell, a Mayo man with a strong background in management consultancy, will assess the situation and realise that this is a chance to not just fall in line with the people of the country, but to prove that they are every bit as Irish as any other sporting body.

They can stand for something meaningful and show that this is an association we can be proud of, and not since Italia ‘90 would Irish soccer have inspired the nation quite so powerfully.