SIPTU backs RTÉ staff boycott of Israel games
Finnian Cox
A major Irish trade union will back RTÉ staff intending to boycott the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches involving Ireland and Israel.
The statement comes after it was reported that the national broadcaster would be stripping back their coverage of the matches on 27 September and 4 October.
Representatives from the union said that they welcomed reports that staff refusal to play a role in the broadcast could see it go ahead without commentary, panel or studio analysis.
Deputy General Secretary of SIPTU, Greg Ennis said that the organisation had formally written to RTÉ, requesting that they boycott the showing of the matches against Israel if the games went ahead.
“We have worked with our members in RTÉ to ensure their right to conscientiously object to playing any role in the sportswashing of the genocidal state was heard,” he said.
The statement describes the match as an act of normalisation, and reiterated their intention to maintain pressure on the Government and Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to stop the matches going ahead.
This act of protest is the latest in a saga that has been ongoing since the matches were first announced. Israel’s current occupation of Palestine, and investigations by the UN and other bodies on highly evidenced charges of committing genocide have led to fans, commentators and Irish players to call for the game’s cancellation.
The FAI has also accused Israel of breaking FIFA and UEFA rules by establishing clubs on occupied Palestinian land.
They brought forward a motion last November to suspend Israel’s team for these reasons, but were refused, facing a forfeiture of up to €10m in monetary terms.
In a friendly against Qatar last May, fans showed their intention of protesting the upcoming fixture (which was originally set to be played in the Aviva) by peppering the field with tennis balls. The FAI later announced that the games would be moved to neutral venues in Serbia and Kosovo.
Protests have continued around the country since, with demonstrations on Cork’s Grand Parade earlier this month organised by the Cork Palestine Solidarity society.
The movement, which calls on the Government and FAI to ‘Show Israel the Red Card’ saw a national day of action on 5 September with demonstrations also taking place in Dublin, Belfast and Derry.