Uefa have rejected a request by the Football Association of Ireland to be kept apart from Israel in future competition draws. European football’s governing body keep certain countries apart on political grounds, including Spain and Gibraltar, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Ukraine and Russia.
FAI chief executive David Courell asked Uefa earlier this year whether Ireland could be similarly kept apart from Israel, but the European governing body rejected his request, telling him these decisions were not based on “public sentiment”.
“The answer I got was very clear: that would not be possible because Ireland and Israel have never been in direct conflict,” said Courell at a media briefing on Friday. “So that was an answer that I took at face value.” Courell’s request was made after Ireland were first paired with Israel in the forthcoming Nations League.
The FAI CEO acknowledged that there are other situations in which teams are kept apart in the instance that one state does not recognise another’s independence. Kosovo, for instance, are kept apart from Serbia, Russia and Bosnia as none recognise Kosovan independence.
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The FAI are proceeding with Nations League games against Israel on September 27th and October 4th in spite of significant public pressure to boycott the games. Surveys among Irish fans and professional footballers in Ireland have found majorities favouring a boycott, while the FAI point to an EGM vote among members in July that they say gives them a mandate to fulfil the games to safeguard the financial interests of Irish football.
The FAI scrapped initial plans to host Israel in Dublin, fearing the game would be ultimately abandoned owing to protests. The game is instead being held behind closed doors in the remote Serbian town of Bačka Topola.
Courell says the FAI will not host members of the Israel FA at a prematch dinner before the ‘home’ game, as is standard practice. Courell also says the FAI contacted the Israelis to ask not to arrange an engagement before the reverse fixture in Hungary, as the FAI would not be attending it. Courell says the FAI must otherwise fulfil all of the match protocols that Uefa deem mandatory. These include the flying of national flags, the playing of national anthems, and the captains’ prematch exchange of a commemorative pennant.
Handshakes between players are also mandatory, but the Irish players have been given the space to decide if they wish to proceed with them, or stage another kind of protest around the game. The Irish squad assemble for the international window on Sunday evening and are expected to discuss a possible protest among themselves in advance of the first Israel fixture, but after the opening game against Kosovo next Thursday.
The FAI are “scaling back” on a number of elements around the game, said Courell. This includes removing sponsors’ names and logos from stadiums and interview settings. Asked whether this was a decision made solely by the FAI or whether it came at the behest of commercial partners, Courell said he could not give a definitive answer as he was not privy to the conversations. The FAI intend to replace sponsors’ messages on LED boards in the Bačka Topola stadium with ‘Respect’ messaging, though this is subject to approval by Uefa. The wording of these messages must also be approved by Uefa.
The FAI say non-fulfilment of the fixtures would cost the Association approximately €5.5 million of direct costs, and say it would have several other sporting impacts, heightening the likelihood of relegation from League C and harming seeding for future competitions.
“Please do not interpret this as me trivialising the atrocities that are happening in Gaza,” said Courell. “I am acutely conscious of that and am hugely empathetic with it. But equally, I can’t just take my FAI CEO hat off and leave it to the side. I have to do my job.”
