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<\/a>Irish Soccer Players, Sports Icons, Celebrities Call for Boycott of Upcoming UEFA Matches Against Israel<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\nShiryn Ghermezian<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Prominent Irish soccer players, as well as other well-known sports figures and celebrities, have teamed up to pressure the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to boycott two UEFA Nations League matches against Israel set for later this year.<\/span><\/p>\n The campaign group Irish Sport for Palestine published an open letter <\/a>this week regarding a match set for Sept. 27, designated as an Israeli home match, and another future one on Oct. 4 in which Ireland will host Israel at Dublin\u2019s Aviva Stadium.<\/span><\/p>\n The Israel Football Association said in February it hopes to host the Sept. 27 match in Israel, but a formal decision will reportedly be made in June.<\/span><\/p>\n The open letter calls for FAI to boycott both upcoming matches while accusing Israel of a \u201cbrutal system of apartheid,\u201d committing \u201cgenocide\u201d in the Gaza Strip, and carrying out \u201cclear and ongoing breaches\u201d of UEFA and FIFA statutes regarding Israeli soccer teams playing matches \u201con occupied Palestinian lands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt is unconceivable that we would be willing to be silent and give cover to such crimes in the name of football,\u201d the letter states. \u201cWe call on you to ensure the Irish football team is not used to mask UEFA rules breaches, apartheid, and war crimes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The letter was signed by players from both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s League of Ireland soccer teams, Ireland\u2019s former men\u2019s national team manager Brian Kerr, two-time women\u2019s player of the year Louise Quinn, and other former soccer coaches, managers, and players.<\/span><\/p>\n Outside of the sporting world, the letter was also signed by Irish rock band Fontaines DC, the Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap, Irish musicians Mary Coughlan and Christy Moore, and Oscar-nominated Irish actor Stephen Rea, among others.<\/span><\/p>\n Included in the open letter is a statement from Shamrock Rovers captain and Professional Footballers\u2019 Association of Ireland Chairman Roberto Lopes, who was born in Dublin.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t ignore the humanitarian catastrophe in Palestine; the sheer loss of life there has to take precedence over any sporting consideration,\u201d Lopes said. \u201cIreland has an opportunity here to lead \u2014 to be a pioneer and do what others won\u2019t. We need to be brave enough to say enough is enough. We can\u2019t just stand by. Please, stop the game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The matchups for the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League were announced in February. At the time, the FAI said Ireland\u2019s men\u2019s national team will indeed compete against Israel in the scheduled games to avoid facing \u201cdisciplinary measures\u201d by the UEFA, which may include \u201cpotential disqualification\u201d from the competition. Months earlier, in late 2025, the FAI submitted a motion to have the UEFA ban Israel from competitions because of the country\u2019s war in Gaza. The motions were rejected.<\/span><\/p>\n FIFA President Gianni Infantino previously said<\/a> he believes FIFA \u201cshould actually never ban any country\u201d from playing soccer \u201cbecause of the acts of their political leaders.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said he supports Ireland playing the two matches against Israel in September and October.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe have been critics and have opposed very strongly Israeli government policy within Gaza in particular. We condemned the Hamas attack on Israel which was absolutely horrific,\u201d he told the Irish Times<\/em>. \u201cI think sport is an area that can be challenging when it crosses into the realm of politics.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion’68,<\/em> Irish Soccer Players, Sports Icons, Celebrities Call for Boycott of Upcoming UEFA Matches Against Israel Shiryn Ghermezian Soccer Football \u2013 UEFA Nations League Draw \u2013 Brussels Expo, Brussels, Belgium \u2013 Feb. 12, 2026, General view during the draw. Photo: REUTERS\/Benoit Tessier Prominent Irish soccer players, as well as other well-known sports figures and celebrities, have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[33,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130417"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=130417"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130696,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130417\/revisions\/130696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=130417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=130417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=130417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![](\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2026-02-12T175040Z_629206777_UP1EM2C1DKF9S_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-UEFANATIONS-DRAW-2.jpg\")
Soccer Football \u2013 UEFA Nations League Draw \u2013 Brussels Expo, Brussels, Belgium \u2013 Feb. 12, 2026, General view during the draw. Photo: REUTERS\/Benoit Tessier<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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