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

Ireland's motion on Israel to UEFA failed, it was defeated, there is no open question for UEFA about Israel, it has been decided that they should continue to participate. Given that there has been a ceasefire in Gaza since that decision, I cannot see how it can be overturned.

That puts the FAI in a very awkward position. If they continue with their boycott, they will be defying the democratic ruling that UEFA have made. The minimum punishment is that Ireland lose six points and minus six goal difference to Israel. However, the punishment could be far worse. Take for example, the stupid SF motion in the Dail. If there is political interference in a football association, the punishment is suspension from all competitions. This has happened regularly enough throughout FIFA history. If the FAI boycott, on the back of a Dail motion, we could see the end of international football for several years and the loss of Euro 28. FAI would likely go bankrupt.

Israel and Gaza are far better now, albeit so much to do still? Ceasefire is in place!

IN Report from three days ago: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/05/1167610

At least 26 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip since Tuesday…

The office noted that Israeli forces have killed 922 Palestinians in attacks since the announcement of the ceasefire in October…

Nearly the entire population remains displaced and concentrated “into a progressively narrower strip of land”, with multiple displacement orders issued in recent days…

You are beyond deluded. 

Jimmy's grand now, because the cannibals have stopped eating him.

🤣

There was a discussion about this at our club at the weekend, and I was surprised by how many people were questioning the boycott. From listening to the media and reading forums like this you'd swear there was unquestionable support for it. The general understanding seemed to be that, at a minimum, we would likely face a points deduction and negative goal difference. Given the current standard of the team, that could easily contribute to relegation, which further damages our prospects in future competitions.

That has wider consequences too. Rankings matter. They affect qualification pathways, seedings, and our ability to attract friendlies against elite opposition. These things have both sporting and financial implications. Some of the suggestions put forward to deal with those consequences by those supporting the boycott without question were, frankly, fanciful. If the political interference we are seeing escalates further and the footballing authorities are forced to act, then the financial consequences for the FAI, and the reputational consequences for Irish football, would be severe.

One particularly sensible contributor raised a question that nobody seemed keen to answer: if we boycott these games, is this a one-off, or does it become the policy going forward? What happens if we draw Israel again in a future qualifying campaign, Euro 2028 qualifying for example, which is entirely possible given our ranking? What happens if another country becomes the subject of political opposition? Once that precedent is established, where exactly is the line drawn?

Whether you support a boycott or oppose it, those are questions that deserve serious answers.

We could always leave UEFA and join the AFC. An Israeli boycott would be much more welcome by most of their membership. Our chances of progressing to the World Cup in 2030 would also greatly improve and it's not like we'd be the first country to switch to a different confederation…

Your keen contributor made a good point… We literally played against the team representing the state of Qatar the other day and Dublin Airport made a big song and dance about seeing the Qatari team off to the World Cup on their social media

Can we in good conscience boycott Israel while at the same time being so welcoming to Qatar?

And, yes, I see the contradiction between my 2 points. My point about joining the AFC was largely in jest and riddled with sarcasm

The most effective route of avoiding Israel would be to insist that Asian countries play in the AFC, not UEFA.

While there are different opinions on where the border between Europe and Asia is, there are several very clearly geographically Asian countries in UEFA.

The word 'insist' suggests a level of authority not obviously present here.

That's because it was a pointless exercise that the selfie flotilla lads knew was pointless, and knew would never reach Gaza, and knew that they'd be intercepted and released quickly; but it still gave them the chance to make up nasty "we were tortured" claims against Israel, and all this deceptively accepted and believed by the boycott Israel brigade.

They weren't bringing aid anywhere…..they were sailing knowing full well they weren't getting near Gaza, and a few milk cartons and bikkies doesn't change this. And I think you know this, like everyone else, but won't admit it. As for their torture claims…..you don't believe this either. They were absolutely not tortured, unless hands tied to restrain is now torture. And I am revealing my true colors. The colors that don't see me stupidly-blindly fooled by the selfie flotilla bullshit claims

Unless they actually were allowed enter Gaza!!!