A number of leading figures within the League of Ireland, as well as a former Ireland manager and women’s captain, have signed an open letter calling on the FAI to refuse to play Israel in the UEFA Nations League later this year.
A campaign by Irish Sport for Palestine, titled “Stop the Game” has been launched, with an open letter backed by high-profile figures in Irish soccer.
Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland chair and Shamrock Rovers captain Roberto Lopes – who is set to play in this summer’s World Cup for Cape Verde – urged the FAI to reverse its stance.
“We have to stop the game. As players and fans, our natural instinct is always to get out there and compete, but this is a moment where we need to look at the bigger picture. We can’t ignore the humanitarian catastrophe in Palestine; the sheer loss of life there has to take precedence over any sporting consideration. Ireland has an opportunity here to lead—to be a pioneer and do what others won’t. We need to be brave enough to say enough is enough. We can’t just stand by. Please, stop the game,” Lopes wrote.
Former men’s national team manager Brian Kerr and 2019 FAI women’s player of the year Louise Quinn are among those from inside the sport that added their names to the campaign.
Christy Moore, Fontaines DC and Kneecap are also among the 38 signatories.
The open letter addressed to the FAI called on them “to refuse to participate in the two scheduled UEFA nations league games against Israel.”
With “the clear and ongoing serious breaches of UEFA & FIFA statute regarding Israeli teams playing on occupied Palestinian lands”, adding “as a member of UEFA you have a duty to upload [sic] these rules if UEFA will not”.
The letter also highlights the landslide vote of FAI members last year, where 93% voted to instruct the organisation to call for Israel’s suspension to UEFA.
The FAI confirmed it would be fulfilling the fixtures, stressing that “serious consequences” would result from forfeiting the games, which would “materially harm the long-term sporting interests of Irish football”.
The governing body said at the time they had consulted with the government and An Garda Síochána and were satisfied that the home tie could be staged in Dublin.
“I don’t see a difference between Fifa and Uefa banning Russia and not Israel,” – Irish Manager Heimir Hallgrímsson
Heimir Hallgrímsson wants Israel thrown out of UEFA and FIFA competitions ; “Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson believes Fifa and Uefa should remove Israel from their competitions in the same way that they banned Russia.
Both Fifa and Uefa banned all Russian clubs and international teams on February 28th 2022, four days after the invasion of Ukraine.
“I don’t see a difference between Fifa and Uefa banning Russia and not Israel,” said Hallgrímsson. “I don’t see the difference.
“I am not speaking on behalf of the FAI – I just don’t see the difference.”
The Republic of Ireland’s soccer team has been drawn against Israel in September and October 2026 in the Nations’ League tournament. The sleeveen Dublin government, run by a right-wing coalition government (Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Beggar-Gombeens) [FFFGBG], is insisting the fixture must go ahead, despite rising popular opposition.
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) debated the Israel issue at a November 2025 Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) and voted by a 91 per cent majority to expel the Israeli football team from all international competitions.
Bohemian FC Chief Operating Officer Daniel Lambert proposed the motion.
He said its purpose was to highlight “two serious breaches of the UEFA statutes that have taken place now for a long number of years”.
“First, and probably the most important, is that there are teams playing on occupied lands, which is explicitly prohibited by UEFA statute for very good reason.
“And the second is the absolute failure of UEFA to tackle serious instances and continued instances of racism, which has been highlighted by numerous Israeli NGOs, as well as international NGOs, so it’s not something that people are commenting on without knowledge.”
Mr Lambert said “it flies in the face of logic that one association, in a game governed by rules, can breach UEFA statutes with no measures taken against them, or with no roadmap to take any action”.
He said the motion will now be sent by the FAI to UEFA.
“We’ve asked the FAI to instruct UEFA EXCO ( executive committee) to take action against the Israeli FA under the statutes. They should be excluded from competitions, that’s what we’re hoping will happen.”
Sleeveen boss of the Dublin government Micheál Martin insists the game has to go ahead in Dublin – but retreat is on the agenda.
Irish Soccer Fans favour Boycott of Israeli TeamsMaccabi Tel Aviv Fans Attacked Palestinians in Amsterdam, November 14 2024Read the rest of this entry »
The singer Rod Stewart has racist far-right form. 50 years ago he publicly supported the vile right-wing racist ideas of Conservative Westminster MP Enoch Powell. Everyone makes mistakes : this rocker has had plenty of time to reverse course. He has not changed. Stewart is a prominent supporter of the Glasgow soccer club Celtic, which has strong anti-racist, anti-imperialist, and inclusive values.
Celtic fan Andy Muirhead declares :
his recent endorsement of Nigel Farage and Reform UK isn’t just a wrong turn; it’s a direct slap in the face to everything Celtic stands for
Rod Stewart has sailed away from our values – Farage support betrays Celtic
Every time Rod Stewart opens his mouth about politics, it makes me sick that this ageing rocker has anything to do with our club. For years, he’s cultivated this image as a true Celtic fan, draped in the green and white, belting out club anthems, soaking up the adulation. Certain fans in our support love it, the club’s hierarchy definitely love it, and the media just can’t help themselves when they catch him on camera.
But his recent endorsement of Nigel Farage and Reform UK isn’t just a wrong turn; it’s a direct slap in the face to everything Celtic stands for. It’s proof that this ageing rocker doesn’t get our club, and that his supposed love for Celtic is nothing more than a convenient, money-making facade.
Let’s be clear: Celtic Football Club was founded by Brother Walfrid to alleviate poverty among Glasgow’s Irish immigrant community. Its very soul is rooted in charity, social justice, and an unwavering commitment to inclusivity. We are a club open to all, regardless of race, religion, or background. Our history is one of solidarity with the oppressed, a beacon of hope in challenging times. This ethos, this fundamental decency, is what makes Celtic “A Club Like No Other.”
The remote Pacific Ocean island of Saipan suddenly hit Irish and global headlines in 2002 when Irish soccer star Roy Keane walked away from the Irish team’s base for the World Cup in Korea and Japan after a blazing row with his manager Mick McCarthy. Today the island is back in the headlines after the political prisoner Julian Assange walked to freedom following a court hearing in the USA-owned North Marinara territory. Like Keane, Assange did not linger in Saipan – he flew home to his native land, Australia.
That is not the only Irish connection. Many innocent Irish political prisoners were held, like Assange, in noxious British jails such as Belmarsh. A small number of dedicated human rights lawyers became household names in Ireland. The picture below shows the released Julian Assange beside one of those lawyers, Gareth Pierce.
Political Prisoner Julian Assange and Civil Rights Lawyer Gareth Pierce
The campaigns for the release of the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four, the Winchester Three and Judith Ward offer an important lesson :
When the left should get together in defence of political prisoners, it is very often a serious mistake to conduct a debate about the political views and activities of the prisoners. In Ireland that was true of the Birmingham 6, the H-Block/Armagh political prisoners, Nicky Kelly and the IRSP members framed for the Sallins Train Robbery, and the Jobstown Not Guilty political activists in Tallaght. Many comrades would be well advised to go back further and examine the Sacco and Vanzetti campaign in the 1920’s, and the Moscow Trial Purges of the 1930’s. The faults (or lack of faults) of the victims are regularly used as an excuse to avoid a united campaign in favour of the victims. The bigger story is that “An Injury to One is An Injury to All”.
Livingston say Celtic fans displaying an ‘unapproved’ tifo was ‘utterly unacceptable’
This British Broadcasting Corporation report neatly summarizes a commercial corporate assault on the political and civil rights of Celtic soccer supporters, the Green Brigade. Most readers of this blog will recognize the faces of Ireland’s Easter 1916 Rising leaders on the large banner. The Green Brigade has regularly demonstrated with Palestine Flags at Celtic games.
These fans are now banned from Celtic home games :
All need to show unconditional solidarity with the two women who came forward in the rape case which led to Sir Jeffrey Donaldson resigning from the leadership of the Democratic Unionist party in the six-county bit of Ireland.
In the Easter Sunday 2024 edition of the Belfast Sunday Life tabloid Lady Eleanor Donaldson is named as the co-defendant in the Jeffrey Donaldson MP rape case. Jeffrey and Eleanor are a married couple.
Two women came forward to the state authorities with allegations categorised as “historical”. In this context, what does the word “historical” mean, precisely? That is a very important question.
A Patrick’s Day “Drowning of the Shamrock” celebration in Washington DC’s White House, including Irish politicians and the USA President, is a long-established tradition. President Joe Biden is an Irish-American who enjoyed a warm welcome “home” to Mayo and Louth in 2023. Biden’s Irish-American links are very strong and genuine – but many people who welcomed him to Ireland less than a year ago have broken with “Genocide Joe” because of USA political and military support of the Israeli murderous assault on the people of Gaza and Palestine.
An articulate response came from a Derry GAA All-Ireland winner, who is related by marriage to Mr Biden – Joe Brolly’s wife is Laurita Blewitt, a third cousin of Mr Biden.
Joe Biden, Laurita Blewitt and Joe Brolly
“President Biden has pledged 14 billion in state of the art weapons of war for Israel to continue to pummel this defenceless population. And 20 trucks of humanitarian aid for Gaza. “I cannot think of anything sicker or more obscene bombing churches, hospitals, indiscriminate slaughter. Israel is a rogue state, completely out of control, as described by many leading Jewish academics and thinkers, acting beyond all norms of morality and anything that we could conceive of as decency and humanity. “And when Joe Biden goes to Israel and hugs, quite rightly, the parents of those slaughtered children and human beings who lost their lives on 7th October, he doesn’t f***ing go to Palestine and do it and hug the children there and hug the mothers and fathers and tell them that he loves them. “That alone would bring about a ceasefire. I stand with humanity he should be saying.”
This story assesses three sporting activities in Ireland – Gaelic Games, Soccer, and Rugby. It shines a light on a misogynous (woman-hating) West-British media culture.
Thanks to the Dublin Council of Trade Unions for bringing this story to our attention.
This ‘Anyone But England’ mentality is petty and reflects badly on us as a nation, and it’s about time we merci d’ignorer le début de ce tweet et de soutenir nos héroïques français contre les anglais.
Source :
This 'Anyone But England' mentality is petty and reflects badly on us as a nation, and it's about time we merci d'ignorer le début de ce tweet et de soutenir nos héroïques français contre les anglais
Ce soir. Allez Les Bleus. Allez, allez, allez. Ni dieu, ni maitre. Ni patrie ni patron. Aux armes citoyens! Formez vos bataillons!
Postscript by a correspondent :
What’s all the grumbling with the referee about? He gave England two penalties. Was he meant to allow Harry Kane retake them until he scored too? Or was he supposed to give 3 because he missed one? 4 maybe? Weird.
Tomás Ó Flatharta 