The Football Association of Ireland’s (FAI) General Assembly has approved a proposal for the Republic of Ireland to go ahead with their upcoming Nations League match against Israel.
It was passed at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held at the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday, with 75 votes to 32 against, while 114 delegates did not agree.
An EGM was initiated when more than 10% of FAI members were against playing League games, but the outcome of the meeting is not binding on the FAI executive.
The proposal put forward by the FAI said: “Whilst acknowledging the strength of feelings regarding support for Palestine and the upcoming Uefa Men’s Nations League matches, that the members are aware of the significant impact any failure of the Uefa matches would have on Irish football as a whole and its future development, and accordingly allow the Association to fulfill those obligations.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the FAI said the passing of the motion “gives the FAI board support to continue to make decisions in the best interests of Irish football”.
“The association understands and respects the views expressed by its members, as well as players and staff, fans, campaigners, members of the public and the Irish football community regarding the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League matches between Ireland and Israel,” it added.
“The organization will continue to liaise with different organizations and support the Irish team in their UEFA Nations League campaign.
The FAI previously said a boycott of the autumn matches against Israel would cause “significant and lasting damage” to Irish football and lead to losses of around 10.3m euros (£9m).
After the United Nations failed in February, the FAI confirmed it would go ahead with the games, with chief executive David Courell saying the governing body had “no other option” and could face “serious consequences” if it pulled out.
There has been increasing pressure on the Republic of Ireland to boycott the games.
Protesters were outside the Aviva on Wednesday during the EGM, and there were clashes outside the Dail (Irish parliament) earlier this year.
May’s friendly against Qatar was interrupted twice when tennis balls bearing the Palestinian flag were thrown onto the pitch.
The ‘Stop the Game’ campaign was also launched by Irish Sport in Palestine.
Both games they will play against Israel later this year are scheduled to be played on neutral grounds.
Debrecen in Hungary will host Israel’s home game on October 27, while the Republic of Ireland’s home game will be played behind closed doors in Backa Topola, Serbia on October 4 after Uefa accepted the FAI’s appeal due to “operational issues” in the running of the game in Dublin.
The Israeli army launched an operation in Gaza in response to an unprecedented attack led by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 were captured.
At least 73,035 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza since then, including more than 21,280 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the area, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.
