A number of Irish celebrities and footballers have put their names to an open letter from Irish Sport for Palestine, which calls for the cancellation of two UEFA-organised matches between Israel and the Republic of Ireland, scheduled for the autumn.
Israel and the Republic of Ireland have been drawn to face each other twice in the upcoming UEFA Nations League competition.
Israel’s ‘home’ fixture, which will likely be played at a neutral venue rather than in Israel, is scheduled for September 27. Ireland is due to host the following week, on October 4.
Among the 39 total signatories of the letter, titled Stop the Game, are musicians Paul Weller, Fontaines DC, and Kneecap, and actor Stephen Rea.
The letter calls on the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to cancel the games because of “the clear and ongoing serious breaches of UEFA & FIFA statute regarding Israeli teams playing on Irish and Palestinian lands”, and “on the basis of a brutal system of apartheid and acts of genocide [in/by Israel]”.
Eleven active players in the League of Ireland are also among the signatories, ten of whom are uncapped internationally, as is Brian Kerr, former manager of the national team.
The eleventh player, Roberto Lopes, was born in Ireland but represents Cape Verde in international competition.
Lopes, who plays for Shamrock Rovers and is the chair of the Professional Footballers’ Association Ireland, effectively the players’ union, said in a foreword to the letter that “we can’t ignore the humanitarian catastrophe in Palestine; the sheer loss of life there has to take precedent over any sporting consideration”.
Although not a signatory, former Irish international James McClean supported the letter, saying on his Instagram story that while “it’s a tough one” for the players, any “decision should be taken out of their hands”.
McClean, capped 103 times for the national side, continued: “If there is one country that should recognise oppression and the turmoil that brings then it's Ireland... although with the decision makers in this country you'd be mistaken to think we ever had any history of it”.
And he said that the matches “should never be going ahead” but accused the FAI of lacking “backbone” enough to take any action.
However, Micheál Martin, the Taoiseach, has already responded to the letter, saying that the fixtures should not be cancelled in spite of his administration’s opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza.
"We have been critics and have opposed very strongly Israeli government policy within Gaza in particular”, he told the Irish Times. “We condemned the Hamas attack on Israel, which was absolutely horrific. I think sport is an area that can be challenging when it crosses into the realm of politics.”
Elsewhere in the letter, the FAI is urged to “ensure the Irish football team is not used to mask UEFA rules breaches, apartheid, and war crimes”.
“It is inconceivable that we would be willing to be silent and give cover to such crimes in the name of football”, it says.
Last November, 93 per cent of FAI members voted to back its leadership to press UEFA to suspend Israel.
Israel has played in UEFA competitions since the 1980s, before which it was part of the Asian confederation, but several other nations in the 1970s refused to compete with the Jewish state.
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.