'It's up to the players now': Ireland urged to boycott Israel games

Ireland’s football team must take responsibility for whether they play Israel rather than leaving the decision to footballing institutions, a prominent campaigner has told The New Arab, as pressure mounts on players ahead of their upcoming Nations League fixtures.

Ashish Prashar, a former adviser to the Middle East peace envoy, said Irish players now faced a "moral question" over whether to take part in the matches.

“Evil happens when good men do nothing. It’s up to the players now,” Prashar told The New Arab. “We can have a conversation about what is fair or what is not fair, but if you’re faced with this moral question, it doesn’t matter who passed the buck to you. It’s about what you’re going to do.

“We don’t get to choose what we face in life. We decide who we are.”

Ireland and Israel were drawn in the same group in League B of the UEFA Nations League 2026-2027, prompting backlash from Irish fans, activists and public figures over Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

The #StopTheGame campaign is calling on Ireland to boycott the matches, with more than 160 Irish sportspeople signing an open letter backing the demand.

The campaign has drawn comparisons with Ireland’s decision to deny visas to the Yugoslav team in June 1999 amid the Kosovo crisis, which led to a Euro qualifier being cancelled and a fine from UEFA.

Midfielder Jason Knight on Thursday became the first Irish player to oppose playing Israel in Sunday's Nations League match in Hungary.

"I don't think the game should be going ahead but it is going ahead," Knight told reporters after the team's 1-0 loss to Kosovo on Thursday.

While the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) passed a motion in November requesting that UEFA suspend Israel from international competitions, the body said it had no choice but to play Israel to avoid sporting or financial sanctions following a vote this summer.

Prashar argued that meaningful action was unlikely to come from football's governing bodies and that pressure therefore needed to come from players and the public.

“It’s never going to come from the institutions; it’s always going to come from the people. The people inside the institution are normalising the genocide and should be held accountable,” Prashar said.

“[FAI] have normalised the mass slaughter of children, they have normalised mass rape of detainees, they have normalised ethnic cleansing, and they have normalised genocide.”

He added: “[FAI] have to be reminded every day that they put their own self-interest first. They have no dignity.”

Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson also drew attention this week after describing the fixture as “playing against genocide”, comments that received support from Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

“We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel,” Hallgrímsson said.

Protests have also been held outside the Irish team’s hotel in Dublin, with further demonstrations planned in the run-up to the games.

The Irish squad is due to meet on Thursday to discuss its approach to Sunday’s game against Israel and could consider protest protocols, including whether players will shake hands with their Israeli counterparts.

Ireland’s women’s basketball team refused to shake hands with Israeli players before a EuroBasket qualifier in February 2024.

Ireland and Israel are due to play twice in eight days, with the fixtures held on a home-and-away basis.

Ireland’s designated home match on 4 October was moved from Dublin’s Aviva Stadium to Backa Topola, Serbia, while the 27 September fixture is due to be played in Debrecen, Hungary.

The Israeli team and its players have also faced controversy ahead of the fixtures, with Israel’s Saied Abu Farchi shown a red card after making a gun-firing gesture with a corner flag while celebrating a goal.