Campaigner: 'If the games go ahead, it will be disgraceful!'

Holding the upcoming Nations League matches between Ireland and Israel in a neutral venue would be an unacceptable and shameful move, a Cork activist has said.

Musician and human rights campaigner Martin Leahy has urged the FAI to pull out of the fixtures altogether, stating that to play the matches would be to “normalize and turn a blind eye to Israel’s war crimes”. “I see it as a political act to play these games,” he said.

The two UEFA Nations League games are currently scheduled for 27 September in Israel, and 4 October in Dublin.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) had previously called for Israel to be banned entirely from the competition, but to no avail. The Government and the FAI now face increasing pressure from the public to make a clear and prompt decision regarding the fixtures. On Tuesday, Sinn Féin called on the Dáil to support a full boycott of the fixtures. This was followed on Wednesday by a motion from the Social Democrats calling for Israel’s exclusion from all sporting fixtures. The Dáil voted on both proposals last night.

Leahy, whose new protest song ‘Don’t Play’ has caught the attention of Amnesty International, said both the FAI and the Government are well aware of the mass opposition to these games going ahead.

He said: “The lack of clarity from the FAI is frustrating and the lack of clarity from Government is equally frustrating. On one hand, Government say not to mix sport and politics, which actually is a word-for-word echo of the line that was used to undermine the sports boycott in apartheid South Africa, and then on the other hand, you have the sports ministers saying that they will not attend. And also of course the very obvious example of Russia being banned.

“I think if the games go ahead, it will be disgraceful, shameful and a dark stain on Ireland and Irish football forever more,” he added.

Leahy’s song was written specifically in protest to the Ireland versus Israel UEFA Nations League fixture at the Aviva Stadium on 4 October and features former Republic of Ireland football manager, Brian Kerr and Palestinian singer, Leen Maarouf. In it, he rewrites ‘Put 'Em Under Pressure', the unofficial Irish anthem from the 1990 FIFA World Cup, replacing the iconic “Olé” with “Don’t play!”.

SIPTU slams government inaction

Representatives of SIPTU, Ireland’s biggest trade union, have condemned the Government for failing to address the “fundamental moral and political issues” arising from proposed football fixtures involving Israel.

The union said that last night’s Dáil votes should be used to send a clear message that Ireland cannot look away from the “genocide, ethnic cleansing, and illegal bombing” being carried out by the Israeli State in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran.

SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, Greg Ennis, said: “It is not enough for government ministers to simply refuse to attend a match or look the other way. The Government must lead, invoke the will of the Irish people and of our international footballers, who clearly do not wish to play Israel in these circumstances. As a major funder of the FAI, the Government cannot seek to hide away from its responsibilities. It should encourage and, if necessary, insist that the FAI does the right thing.”