Gaza Genocide21 September, 20262 min read
Israel Football Association Slams Heimir Hallgrímsson Over “Playing Against Genocide” Comments
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Hallgrímsson said Ireland were 'playing against genocide' rather than 'playing with genocide'. Israel FA branded his remarks as stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy.
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Genocide row erupts
Heimir Hallgrimsson said Ireland were "playing against genocide" when he defended their Nations League fixtures against Israel, and the Israel Football Association responded by accusing him of "stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy." Hallgrimsson made the comments during his squad announcement for the upcoming Nations League games that include two fixtures against Israel on 27 September and 4 October.
The Israel FA said it had "not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy" and insisted, "We're not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, we're playing against the coach who embodies them." The Republic of Ireland team faced a protest at the team's hotel in Dublin on Monday evening as pressure to boycott the fixtures continued to build.
Boycott push grows
The Irish Sport for Palestine Group urged a boycott and said more than 160 Irish sportspeople signed an open letter telling the Football Association of Ireland to "show the power of sport to unite" by refusing the games.
The letter said, "Not playing the game would be the most sporting thing you could do," as it framed the decision as "bigger than sport" and tied it to anti-colonial and anti-imperial resistance.
The Israel FA said the FAI should have intervened earlier, while the Football Association of Ireland declined to respond to the Israel FA's comments in the immediate aftermath.
Kevin Kilbane added his voice to the protests by writing in the Irish Times that "Ireland should not be playing Israel. Not in Dublin, not in Hungary, and definitely not a "home" match in Serbia."
Fixtures proceed, venues shift
The Football Association of Ireland said it would reluctantly proceed with Sunday's game in Debrecen, plus a "home" game in Serbia on Oct. 4, and it said no tickets would be made available to Irish fans for either fixture.
“The United Nations believes the retaliation has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians.”
The Israel FA and the wider dispute played out against a backdrop of the Gaza war, with the BBC saying the United Nations believes the retaliation has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians.
The Times of Israel reported that the matches were set to be staged at neutral venues and behind closed doors, with Ireland due to play Israel on September 27 in Hungary before the reverse fixture in Serbia on October 4.
The Israel FA said Hallgrimsson had told players he was uncomfortable with the prospect of facing Israel, while the coach said, "none of us feel comfortable playing in these games."