Throughout my decades working in football, I have been guided by one key principle – keep politics off the field. Sport, like music, enriches us and should provide an escape from the hard realities of everyday life. Football is one of the world’s greatest unifiers but this is jeopardised the moment the divisiveness of politics creeps in.
In the fractured world we live in this is becoming increasingly difficult. Sporting organisations and personalities are constantly posturing for such causes. With its worldwide audience, football is particularly prone to these distractions. Taking the knee, the wearing of armbands and other symbolic adornments, displaying inappropriate flags, lighting the Wembley arch and commentators airing their ignorant prejudices. These are all examples of an increasing trend which is out of hand. These actions are clearly supported by some but are an extreme irritation to what I would guess is the silent majority. Additionally, these public exhibitions tend to be highly and disproportionately selective and dangerously simplistic. They distract from the event itself and create resentment and counter actions.
This is particularly relevant when it comes to Israel. Last autumn, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were scandalously banned from a European match at Villa Park. West Midlands Police’s shambolic performance was a disgrace and it was found to have fabricated evidence and misled Parliament as it kowtowed to the threats of antisemitic Islamists in Birmingham. Shortly afterwards, UEFA’s Euro 2028 launch event in Central London was hijacked by the same anti-Israel fanatics.
Matters reached a new low in the build-up and playing of the recent Israel v Republic of Ireland game. Not only was the fixture relocated from Dublin to Hungary due to fears of local protests, there were concerted efforts within Ireland to prevent their country’s footballers even taking the field. This was compounded by inflammatory remarks by the Irish football manager which inevitably included references to the well-worn “genocide” falsehood.
The game itself was characterised by patently insulting, inappropriate and unsportsmanlike behaviour. The pre-match buildup was disrupted as the Irish team voted on whether they should play. The Irish team wore black armbands in an unmistakable anti-Israel gesture; one of which was taken off and waved in celebration by a player who had just scored. The Irish team refused to shake hands with their opponents and Irish heads were “symbolically” bowed when the Israeli national anthem was played. It was an insult to the multi-ethnic and diverse Israeli squad which includes Muslims and Druze proudly playing alongside their fellow Jewish countrymen.
These are behaviours that would normally be taken up by UEFA, and we will have to see if that is the case on this occasion. I consider it highly likely that Ireland’s petulant and divisive stunts breeched the rules governing international football.
The Football Association of Ireland hasn’t only made a mockery of the traditions and customs of international football. By singling out Israel they have betrayed their own ignorance. No such qualms existed when Hamas’s financiers in Qatar came to Dublin for a friendly fixture. Nor did its national cricket team who saw fit to welcome the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan this summer. I’m not saying that Ireland should have boycotted these games, but the very least the country could have done is speak out about the grave injustices associated with those two countries.
The Israeli FA and its players have shown admirable restraint in the face of such flagrant provocation. They possibly reason that if they had risen to the bait, they would have been treated disproportionately.
Football reflects the attitudes and tensions of wider society. Whatever the challenges I have already outlined, they pale before the wave of prejudice that has swept through Europe. In the UK, we have just witnessed a Labour Party conference where the mention of supporting Palestine sent the hall into raptures. The Green Party is edging towards adopting policies that would be recognised in 1930s’s Germany. The Israelophobic obsession is on punishing and demonising the world’s only Jewish state.
With the two nations set to meet again, we can expect further unedifying scenes from the Irish. There can, however, be no reasonable chance of ridding such pathetic gesturing from the sport unless Europe’s governing football body steps in and calls out the Irish FA. I know I won’t be alone in having very low expectations.
David Bernstein was FA chairman from January 2011 until his 70th birthday in May 2013 and chairman of Manchester City FC from 1998 to 2003. His is the author with Tim Rich of "We Were Really There, The Rebirth of Manchester City” from Pitch Publishing.
On November 19, the JC will host David Bernstein for an in-depth conversation on football’s power to bridge borders and unite communities. Tickets are available here
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