{"id":4694,"date":"2026-09-19T15:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T15:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4694"},"modified":"2026-09-19T15:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T15:32:10","slug":"uefa-defends-policy-after-rejecting-irelands-request-not-to-play-israel-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4694","title":{"rendered":"UEFA defends policy after rejecting Ireland\u2019s request not to play Israel | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"
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UEFA responds after Ireland\u2019s football association says its request to avoid future pairings with Israel was \u2060rejected.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 19 Sep 2026<\/span>19 Sep 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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UEFA has said that decisions on whether national teams should be kept apart in \u2060\u2060competition draws are made \u2060\u2060on a case-by-case basis and guided primarily by security considerations, after the Republic of Ireland\u2019s football association said its request to avoid future pairings with Israel had been \u2060\u2060rejected.<\/p>\n

Football Association of Ireland chief executive David Courell said on Friday that it had asked UEFA if the Republic of Ireland and Israel could be separated in future draws \u2060\u2060after being paired in February\u2019s Nations League draw.<\/p>\n

They are due to meet in that competition on September 27 and October 4.<\/p>\n

European football\u2019s governing body said requests to stop teams being drawn against each other are considered individually.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecisions to avoid certain teams being \u200c\u200cdrawn against each other are made taking into consideration several factors, especially conditions between the two countries leading to structural risks for security,\u201d UEFA said in a statement on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cUEFA handles every situation very carefully on its own merits and monitors all facts and developments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Courell told reporters the FAI had been informed that such an arrangement would not be possible because Ireland and Israel had \u201cnever been in direct conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Israel Football Association also responded \u2060\u2060to Courell\u2019s remarks, questioning whether a formal request had been \u2060\u2060made to UEFA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question should be directed at UEFA: was there an official inquiry or request regarding this matter, or is this merely another inconsequential statement?\u201d IFA head of communications Shlomi Barzel told the Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we long ago \u2060\u2060stopped getting worked up over statements detached from reality, we are focusing on high-quality professional preparations to achieve our goals on \u2060\u2060the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fixtures have been controversial in Ireland amid the \u2060\u2060conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Last November, members of the FAI voted overwhelmingly for its board to request that UEFA should suspend the IFA from European competitions, while in May, leading Irish footballers and celebrities joined in a \u200c\u200ccampaign for a boycott of Ireland\u2019s home Nations League fixture.<\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s designated home match on October 4 is due to be played behind closed doors in Backa Topola, Serbia, instead of \u200c\u200cDublin, \u200c\u200cwhile Irish fans will not receive tickets for Israel\u2019s designated home fixture in Debrecen, Hungary, the previous weekend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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UEFA responds after Ireland\u2019s football association says its request to avoid future pairings with Israel was \u2060rejected. Published On 19 Sep 202619 Sep 2026 UEFA has said that decisions on whether national teams should be kept apart in \u2060\u2060competition draws are made \u2060\u2060on a case-by-case basis and guided primarily by security considerations, after the Republic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t