An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-17
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Chris Andrews (SF), Labour Panel

Ireland has been drawn to play genocidal Israel in the Nations League. UEFA is ignoring and breaking its own statutes. It is hardly surprising it is doing that because world football is clearly corrupt. The FIFA president giving Trump a peace prize was bizarre. The Irish Government and FAI must decide if they will join the circus and ignore the genocide, apartheid and terror Israel inflicts on Palestinians each and every day. Alternatively, will Ireland make a principled stand? Will we be brave? The FAI's own membership looked for Israel to be expelled from European football. UEFA ignored the wishes of the Irish footballing community. The decision on whether to play should not be down to the players.
If it is, then politics has failed to hold the institutions that are responsible to account. Poland refused to play Russia when Russia invaded Ukraine. Poland faced no consequences, so why would Ireland face consequences for refusing to play genocidal Israel? The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste need to stop pretending that football is somehow above politics. This view is utter nonsense and ignores the reality that exists. They need to grow a backbone and stand up to the normalisation of the Israeli regime by UEFA.
Over 400 footballers were targeted and killed by Israel in Gaza. Israel turned many of the sports facilities there into graveyards, so it clearly does not see any issue with mixing politics and sport. Some of the children, footballers who were killed by Israel, did play football here in Ireland with the Al-Helal football club in 2017 and 2018. If the game does go ahead – and I sincerely hope it does not – then the Israeli players who served in Gaza or played on teams which play on occupied land should be arrested when they arrive here for the war crimes in which they participated. The same applies to the supporters. Israeli supporters must be security screened to ensure that any IOF members who arrive here are arrested and charged in respect of the war crimes they committed in Gaza. Last year, young kids from Palestine and the West Bank,were looking to come here to play hurling and GAA. They were prevented from doing so by the Department of justice. The IOF participants in genocide who arrive here must be security screened to ensure that they have not participated in war crimes. They must also be dealt with in accordance with the law.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:38+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-17