Republic of Ireland will play Israel twice in UEFA Nations League matches, facing calls for a boycott. A friendly against Qatar in Dublin was halted twice due to home fan protests, including tennis balls covered with Palestinian flags thrown onto the pitch. The protests were linked to upcoming Ireland fixtures against Israel. The Irish parliament, the Dáil, saw further protests over the Israel matches, and the Football Association of Ireland passed a motion in November requesting UEFA suspend Israel from international competition, without support from European football’s governing body. Ahead of the Qatar match, Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson said the situation was unfair for players and challenged them to win “this war” when asked about the Nations League encounters.
"Republic of Ireland are set to face Israel twice in UEFA Nations League matches, but are facing calls for a boycott. The international football friendly between the Republic of Ireland and Qatar in Dublin was twice halted by home fan protests against their side's upcoming fixtures against Israel. The Irish are due to face Israel twice in the UEFA Nations League competition, but have faced strong backlash against the fixtures with calls for the games to be boycotted."
"Tennis balls covered by images of the Palestinian flag were thrown onto the field of play after 10 and 20 minutes of Thursday's match at Aviva Stadium in the Irish capital, causing play to be halted. Qatar were playing the fixture as part of their preparation for this summer's FIFA World Cup, for which the Irish failed to qualify."
"On Wednesday, the Irish parliament the Dail saw new protests over the Israel fixtures, while the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) passed a motion in November requesting that UEFA immediately suspend Israel from international competition, but received no support from European football's governing body."
"In Wednesday's pre-match news conference, ahead of the Qatar fixture, Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson challenged his players to win this war against Israel when asked about the Nations League encounters. The Icelander has previously added his name to calls for Israel to be banned from international football, and added in the media briefing: It's an obstacle I don't like, and it's unfair for the players to be in this position and us to be in this position. From a footballing perspective, I don't like us to be the bad guys. We are not the bad guys here, he said."
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Read at www.aljazeera.com
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