Taoiseach says Netanyahu indifferent to Ireland’s match with Israel

The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, told the Dáil that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “could not give a toss” about whether the Irish soccer team plays its second Nations League game against Israel this weekend.

Martin said he “fully understands” the anger in Ireland over the decision to fulfil the fixtures, adding that the country wants “fair play, justice and self‑determination for Palestinians” and deplores the killing of children. He stopped short of urging the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to cancel the Sunday match.

The comments came after Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger criticised the FAI’s handling of the games as “shambolic, arrogant and incompetent”, calling for the resignation of the CEO and board. She argued the association ignored grassroots opinion, shifted the venue despite fan opposition and mis‑reported a vote on the matter.

FAI chief executive David Courell is due to appear before the Oireachtas Sports Committee, where he will acknowledge the “suffering and devastation in Gaza” but stress that, as a UEFA member, the FAI is bound by competition rules. He will say the decision to play the matches was taken after board consideration and an extraordinary general meeting in July, and was not an endorsement of Israel’s participation.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: Lajos Kristóf Kántor / Pexels.