Basketball Ireland has said it is assessing its “next steps” after being drawn in a qualifying group for the women’s European basketball championships that includes the Israeli national team.
The organisation said it was “extremely alarmed by the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza”, and did not confirm that it would play the fixture as scheduled.
It said it was “awaiting clarifications on a number of matters” with Fiba Europe, the European basketball governing body.
A spokesperson for Basketball Ireland declined to provide details to The Irish Times on what matters it had raised with Fiba Europe and what clarifications had been sought from the body.
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Basketball Ireland said it “will also be liaising with players, coaching staff, Sport Ireland, the Government, and other stakeholders over the coming days”. The organisation expects to provide an update on the situation next week.
A spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport said Basketball Ireland was an independent body and was “autonomous in their decision making, including regarding the organisation of and participation in international sporting competitions”.
“Neither the Minister nor the department has any role in this regard and there has been no communication recently on this matter between the department and Basketball Ireland,” a spokesperson said.
The Irish women’s squad is ranked 81st in the world, while the Israeli national team is 47th. The two teams are first scheduled to play each other on November 18th in Israel, the Irish squad’s final fixture in the early stages of the qualifying round.
Basketball Ireland would suffer a fine of up to €80,000 if the team failed to play the game after the qualifying competition started, the organisation said. “Failure to play the return game would lead to a fine of up to €100,000” and removal from the next two European basketball championships, in 2027 and 2029, it added.
“Should Basketball Ireland elect to withdraw from the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers campaign entirely before they commence, a fine of up to €30,000 would be applied”, as well as “additional sanctions” from FIBA Europe which could include “exclusion from future competitions”.
Basketball Ireland secured a core grant from Sporting Ireland last year of €900,000, with a €63,908 grant earmarked for “women in sport”. Financial statements showed the organisation was working at a €188,000 deficit last year.
The Irish team also expressed discomfort with fulfilling fixtures against the Israeli team last year. Basketball Ireland said it could not “guarantee the safety of the Israeli team” playing a fixture in Dublin due to “the likelihood of protests” over their presence in the State.
Israeli team member Dor Saar said last year that “it’s known that they [Ireland] are quite anti-Semitic, it’s not a secret”, which Basketball Ireland strongly denied and condemned.
The fixtures were played, although “traditional prematch arrangements”, such as players shaking hands and exchanging gifts, were not carried out.
Israel won both the first game, which led to the terse exchange of words, and the return fixture, both taking place in Riga.
