Ireland vs Israel - To play or not to play, that is the question Read OP for Mod Warning

You sign up to the army, you accept the risk that you get deployed somewhere dangerous.

Its a bit like a fat man who eats too much chocolate and cake complaining about chocolate and cake making you fat.

So the FAI boycott games, commit financial suicide to make the Palestinians feel better?

That's utter nonsense frankly.

Our economy is irrelevant to the FAIs finances. No games = no income. It's not a difficult concept.

I never said anything about not putting Israel under the spotlight or not castigating them.

THe FAI could release a statement tomorrow castigating the Israeli state and also go ahead with both games. Its not an either/or situation. Just because the games go ahead does not mean the FAI support the Israel state, or dont have sympathy for the Palestinian people. They just have priorities closer to home that they are actually responsible for and have control over.

The FAI already raised a motion with UEFA regarding Israel and it got no support. None. Nada. We already know what the 50 odd other associations in UEFA think. There is nothing out there currently which suggests the FAI boycotting the games will garner support from other associations.

You havent really debunked anything I've said, you have just refused to accept The reality of they world we live in. Bad sh1t happens all over the world every day.

The FAI cannot afford a 10-15m hit in income. Thats fairly obvious. Its basic economics.

The Israel/Gaza issue scores very low on the list of concerns Irish people have. I never said they didn't care, just that as per the poll its a low priority compared to other issues which affects people more directly.

Ireland is too small to matter on the world stage. How many protests, solidarity marches etc have taken place here in the last few years, and what impact have they had?

Riddles? That is down to you TBF, I couldn't have been clearer.

It's not up to me to suggest anything.

Uefa might finally be forced into action

For those wondering what will become of the FAI motion to UEFA to ban Israel for rule breaches, here's a similar case from FIFA. The Palestinian FA submitted a complaint regarding the Israeli FAs racist behaviour and allowing clubs in occupied terrotories back in May 2024. And FIFAs, frankly pathetic, punishment for these broken rules is a suspended €164K fine, and Israel now have to display a banner with the words 'Football Unites the World – No to Discrimination’ at its next three FIFA competition matches. It really doesn't get much more useless than that.

Particularly notable is that they've completely side-stepped the West Bank clubs issue by saying: "FIFA should take no action given that, in the context of the interpretation of the relevant provisions of the FIFA Statutes, the final legal status of the West Bank remains an unresolved and highly complex matter under public international law" - which isn't true. International law is quite clear on the West Bank and Israels illegal occupation.

Full article here: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c0mjn9ml43mo

Can we expect better from UEFA? And how long will it take them to come to a decision?

It is not as simple as that.

My understanding is that the ICJ has issued advisory opinions on Israel's occupation. Advisory opinions are not legally binding.

As such, the conclusions of FIFA in relation to that are understandable. The non-legally binding nature of those opinions has been referenced before on these pages. I am surprised this wasn't known.

It is interesting, but I doubt those clubs applied to join the Palestinian FA.

Israel are members of the ICJ, they don't recognise the ICC, the two are different. However, that has nothing to do with the point I am making. Neither does the award to Trump have any bearing.

The ICJ did not issue judgements against Israel, they issued advisory opinions. The legal standing is different. Advisory opinions carry a certain moral weight, but they are not legally binding. That is the context that makes FIFA's ruling understandable.

There are lots of countries that have ignored UN security council resolutions. What has happened to those countries?

ICJ advisory opinions are not legally binding, that applies to every country. It is a simple fact. That means FIFA don't have to follow them either.

If you are saying that Israel should be banned from the World Cup for ignoring UN Security Council Resolutions, the question of others is relevant. Argentina ignored UN Security Resolutions on the Falklands, yet took part in World Cups.

Of course, if you are arguing from a purely anti-Israeli position, the introduction of comparators will make the discussion uncomfortable.

I do note that the discussion has moved on from Israel being banned because of ignoring Advisory Opinions of the ICJ. That is good.

The consistency is that UN Resolutions and ICJ Judgements have not been sufficient cause in the past to ban countries from FIFA and UEFA.

The inconsistency is to single out Israel.