"It's been tough though because the squads have been so split,” the Brentford defender said on Tuesday. “You had a lot of senior players in the last camp and a different number here. We all need to be there together at once.”
He continued: “What we speak about is hard to say because you need the whole group together.”
However, he admitted there may be players with strong personal views. “They're entitled to their own opinions and if they're very strong about that, then it's nothing we can stop them about,” he said.
Following Collins’ comments, the national side’s manager, Heimir Hallgrimsson, said that it is “unfair for the players to be in this position”.
That sentiment was echoed by veteran right back Séamus Coleman, who said on Thursday: “My views are very clear on the fact that Nathan and the younger players, and Ireland, the fans, the manager, it should not have landed on our toes to answer questions about this.
“I am a dad, I am a husband, I've got a heart, I know the difference between right and wrong.”
“I mean if I ask you the same question, I'm sure you're all of the same opinion of what's happening. It's awful, it is extremely sad, and it's a very difficult position for the players to be in.
Seamus Coleman (right) during a World Cup qualifier against Czech Republic in March 2026. (Photo: MILAN KAMMERMAYER / AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
“Then there is the football side, and the sanctions and everything that comes with it. It is very difficult for us players, difficult for the manager, and all the staff that we are dealing with this. But of course, you know our feelings as human beings.”
On Thursday night, Ireland took on Qatar in Dublin, beating them 1-0 thanks to a header from Collins. However, the game was twice interrupted in the first half as fans threw tennis balls emblazoned with the Palestine flag onto the pitch.
Jamie McGrath stands among tennis balls featuring the Palestine flag which were thrown onto the pitch during Thrsday night's friendly with Qatar (Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)Getty Images
Midfielder Jamie McGrath said after full-time that “we have to listen to them [the protesters], they have the right to do what they do, as long as it's done in a peaceful way, that's all that matters”.
Speaking to BBC Sport NI, he continued: “I think Séamus [Coleman] spoke really well about it the other day. We all don't agree with what's going on. Ideally, it's not in our hands.
“I'm sure it's going to heat up over the next few months. Like I said, we don't want to be put into a position. Hopefully the powers above us can work something out or use it for the greater good, I'm not sure what the process will be as it heats up.
Jamie McGrath during the friendly against Qatar on Thursday (Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)Getty Images
“At the end of the day, we're footballers and we don't want to be caught in this, but sometimes we might have to.”
It comes after a number of high-profile figures in Irish football signed an open letter calling on the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to cancel the Israel matches.
The letter cited “the clear and ongoing serious breaches of UEFA & FIFA statutes regarding Israeli teams playing on Irish and Palestinian lands… on the basis of a brutal system of apartheid and acts of genocide [in/by Israel]”.
Signatories included eleven active players from the League of Ireland – all but one of whom are internationally uncapped – and former national team manager Brian Kerr.
Prior to the open letter, the FAI had decided that the fixtures would be fulfilled, despite the its General Assembly voting just three months earlier to table a motion to UEFA calling for Israel’s suspension from European football.
Collins said that as players, “we just have to trust the FAI, we have to trust the government that they know what they're doing”.
