{"id":5719,"date":"2026-09-26T12:57:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T12:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=5719"},"modified":"2026-09-26T12:57:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T12:57:23","slug":"pressure-to-boycott-israel-game-grows-as-ireland-preparations-stall-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=5719","title":{"rendered":"Pressure to boycott Israel game grows as Ireland preparations stall | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ireland are due to play Israel in the Nations League in Hungary on Sunday, but boycott pressure mounts on and off-field.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 26 Sep 2026<\/span>26 Sep 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Ireland team\u2019s news conference and training session the day before its first Nations League game against Israel have been delayed as pressure to boycott the matches grows.<\/p>\n

Journalists in Debrecen, Hungary \u2013 where Israel\u2019s \u201chome\u201d game is to be played Sunday \u2013 were left waiting Saturday after being told the news conference was being pushed back until after training. That was 15 minutes before it was supposed to begin.<\/p>\n

Training was also significantly delayed, however, with Irish broadcaster RTE reporting the players were still in their hotel more than two hours after the training session was supposed to begin.<\/p>\n

RTE reported that some players had decided they did not want to play the games.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if they stay to their stated ambition that they have to be all in it together, if one or more want to be out, maybe they will all be out,\u201d reporter Tony O\u2019Donoghue told RTE Radio 1.<\/p>\n

The team has been coming under increasing pressure in Ireland, where affinity with Palestinians is strong, to boycott the two games \u2013 the first on Sunday and the second, Ireland\u2019s \u201chome\u201d game, in Backa Topola, Serbia, on October 4.<\/p>\n

Ireland midfielder Jason Knight said after Thursday\u2019s 1-0 loss in Kosovo that the players were in a difficult situation and that he didn\u2019t think the matches should be going ahead.<\/p>\n

Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson previously said \u201cwe\u2019re not playing with genocide, we\u2019re playing against genocide. We\u2019re playing against Israel, we\u2019re not playing with Israel\u201d \u2013 drawing a furious reaction from the Israeli football federation, which accused the Icelandic coach of \u201cstupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) had resisted calls to boycott the matches, arguing the team could be hit by punishing sanctions by UEFA. Ireland is cohosting the 2028 European Championship with England, Wales and Scotland.<\/p>\n

More than 160 Irish sportspeople signed an open letter urging the FAI to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the fixtures.<\/p>\n

There were protesters outside the team hotel in Dublin last week calling on the players to boycott the games. The SIPTU trade union displayed a huge poster in central Dublin beside the River Liffey asking the players to \u201cGo with your conscience!\u201d and \u201cDon\u2019t play with genocide\u201d beside an image of a blood-splattered ball.<\/p>\n

Former Ireland coach Brian Kerr said the FAI had \u201clost the respect of the Irish people\u201d for going ahead with the games.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Irish people and the soccer-going public don\u2019t want the games to be played,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cI think they\u2019ve made their opinions clear over the last year. The FAI back in November actually went to UEFA and requested that Israel be put out of the tournament on principle. And yet they went against that principle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Ireland are due to play Israel in the Nations League in Hungary on Sunday, but boycott pressure mounts on and off-field. Published On 26 Sep 202626 Sep 2026 The Ireland team\u2019s news conference and training session the day before its first Nations League game against Israel have been delayed as pressure to boycott the matches…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5720,"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,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5719","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