Ireland's men's football team plays Israel twice in this UEFA Nations League cycle — September 27 in Debrecen, Hungary, and October 4 in Bačka Topola, Serbia. Both matches will be at neutral venues, closed to fans. That's because an FAI general membership voted 75-32 in July to play the games instead of pushing for a boycott. On September 18, UEFA rejected a separate FAI request to keep Ireland apart from Israel in future draws, saying the countries aren't in "direct conflict" the way pairs like Ukraine and Russia are. Three days later, more than 160 Irish athletes signed an open letter urging the team to boycott anyway. Israel's football federation hit back too, attacking Ireland's manager over his "playing against genocide" comment.

1. The Boycott Campaign (Irish Sport for Palestine, Ciara Mageean, Tony Ward, Louise Quinn)

More than 160 athletes say playing at all is the wrong call, and they've put their names to it.

The letter argues Ireland should skip the game. More than 160 Irish athletes and public figures — including Olympic runner Ciara Mageean, former Ireland international Louise Quinn, and former rugby international Tony Ward — signed a September 21 open letter organized by Irish Sport for Palestine's Stop The Game campaign. "Not playing the game would be the most sporting thing you could do," it states.

The letter blames the institutions, not the players. It says the FAI, UEFA, and the Irish government "should have refused to play based on clear legal, moral, and political grounds" — in other words, they should have made the call, not the players.

People from nearly every Irish sport signed on. Rugby, athletics, boxing, basketball, and Gaelic games are all represented. Separately, protesters have gathered outside the Ireland team hotel with signs calling it "sports-washing."

2. The FAI and Government (David Courell, Simon Harris, Heimir Hallgrímsson)

The team is playing under protest, boxed in by a UEFA rulebook it didn't write.

UEFA left the FAI with no real alternative, its chief executive says. FAI chief executive David Courell says "UEFA inaction has tied the FAI's hands." The federation had asked UEFA to keep Ireland and Israel apart in future draws, and UEFA said no. Playing out the fixtures avoids the sanctions, forfeits, and fines that would follow a walkout.

Walking away would cost Ireland more than just these two games. Taoiseach Micheál Martin has argued: "concede six points to Israel, our ranking goes down. Irish football has been on an upward curve of late." Tánaiste Simon Harris says the decision is "nothing to do with the Government" and that players shouldn't feel any "pressure" either way. Still, he warns a boycott would backfire on Ireland specifically: "the actual country that would end up getting the red card here would be Ireland."

The manager says his team is playing against the war. Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson told reporters at a squad announcement, "We are not playing with genocide, we are playing against genocide. We are playing against Israel; we are not playing with Israel." He's also stood by an earlier comment questioning FIFA and UEFA's decision to ban Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. He wants to know why Israel hasn't faced the same sanction over Gaza.

3. The Israel Football Association

Israel's federation says Ireland's coach picked the wrong word, and isn't letting it go unanswered.

Israel's federation calls the comment pure ignorance. The Israel Football Association said Monday it has "not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by the Republic of Ireland team coach," responding directly to Hallgrímsson's genocide comment.

A formal UEFA complaint may still be coming. Israeli media reports the federation is weighing one over the remark; as of Monday evening, UEFA said it hadn't received one.

This isn't the federation's first friction with Irish football. In November 2025, the FAI's own membership had already voted to back a call for Israel's ban from UEFA — a position UEFA never adopted.

Where This Lands

Nothing so far has changed the plan: Ireland is still set to play both matches, at neutral venues, behind closed doors. The athletes who signed the boycott letter got a public hearing but not a change of plan. The FAI and Simon Harris are living with a decision UEFA made for them by declining to separate the teams. And Israel's federation is still deciding whether a manager's choice of words becomes a formal complaint to UEFA.

Sources