Sports Events
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-02
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Thomas Gould (SF), Cork North-Central

The Minister said that Sport Ireland and the Government had no part to play. That is not accurate. In 1999, the then Government put off a match against Yugoslavia. The precedent has been set, and the Government should step in. It is very unfair of the Government to put all the blame on the FAI and let it carry the can. The FAI has previously made clear its position on playing matches with Israel, but now it has been pushed into a corner. The manager of the team has said: “[I]t's unfair for the players to be in this position and us to be in this position.” Seamus Coleman, one of the longest serving and most decorated Irish footballers, a man who leads by example, said:
My views are very clear on the fact that Nathan and the younger players, and Ireland, the fans, the manager, it should not have landed on our toes to answer questions about this. It should have been dealt with above us

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-02/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:14+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-02