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Over 160 Irish Sportspeople Urge Team to Boycott Israel Fixtures
- On Monday, over 160 Irish sportspeople signed an open letter urging the Irish senior men's national football team to boycott upcoming UEFA Nations League games against Israel, calling on players to "act collectively with conscience."
- Signatories argue that playing Israel legitimises a genocidal regime and ignores statute breaches regarding occupied Palestinian lands; they assert the Football Association of Ireland , UEFA, and the Irish government should have refused on legal, moral, and political grounds.
- Notable figures supporting the initiative include Olympian Ciara Mageean, former rugby international Tony Ward, and soccer player Louise Quinn. The letter states, "Not playing the game would be the most sporting thing you could do."
- Director of Football John Martin urged critics not to blame the squad, stating, "People like me and David Courell made this decision, not the players." He acknowledged squad members are "really uncomfortable playing the games."
- The Irish team faces Israel on September 27 in Debrecen, Hungary, and October 4 in Serbia, while the FAI continues lobbying UEFA to ban Israel from international competitions rather than acting unilaterally.
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The captain of the selection of the Republic of Ireland, Dara O’Shea, stated that they will meet to discuss whether they should organize a protest before facing Israel this weekend in the first of the two controversial parties of the League of Nations of UEFA.
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In a "Stop the Game" protest, activists put pressure on players and officials to cancel the match.
A political row has erupted in the run-up to two football matches between Ireland and Israel. But the match is going ahead as planned. ‘I don’t think...
Coverage Details
Total News Sources84
Leaning Left16Leaning Right8Center22Last UpdatedBias Distribution48% Center
Bias Distribution
- 48% of the sources are Center
48% Center
L 35%
C 48%
R 17%
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