July 7 – Shamrock Rovers captain Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes has renewed his call for the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to refuse to play this autumn’s Nations League game against Israel, insisting that “there are other things bigger than football” ahead of Wednesday night’s Super League.
The Cape Verde international, who returned to Dublin this week after helping his side reach the last 32 of the World Cup before bowing out in style in extra time to Argentina, has emerged as one of the leading voices against the game in his role as chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland.
FAI delegates will vote on a board proposal that seeks to reaffirm the association’s commitment to fulfilling its UEFA obligations while acknowledging widespread concerns about the game.
Lopes, however, believes that the game should not continue under any circumstances.
“My decision has not changed, the game for me must be stopped, it must not be played,” he said.
“I know they were talking about neutral stadiums, it doesn’t really solve the problem, it shakes it up so I think I hope the EGM will go the right way, other things are bigger than football and this is one of them.
“My situation has not changed, the game should not be played and I hope that the right decision will come out of it.”
The issue has become one of Irish football’s most divisive over the years. UEFA has already moved Israel’s home games to neutral venues due to the ongoing security situation, but that has done little to quell opposition from players and fans in Ireland.
Lopes said that football players should not be left with the burden of deciding whether to represent their country in such situations.
“It is incredibly difficult for the players to go through it, they should not have answered this question, they should not have been in this situation, they should have been removed from them.
“As a players’ union, we have to protect those players and I think that’s why PFA Ireland has talked a lot about it because our interest in the players is that we have to look after them.
“And if the players don’t want to play that game – and we’ve seen the results in our league alone, where most people don’t understand the game being played well, that should also extend to the national teams.
“Is there anyone who will refuse to play for his country, maybe not, it is very difficult to be placed there.
“It needed to be taken out of their hands and it wasn’t and we still need to make those calls and knock on the door for power to stop the game.”
The PFA Ireland campaign has also attracted attention beyond Ireland. Lopes pointed out that the union has received the support of the world players’ association FIFPRO, which has followed the development as national associations grapple with the sporting and political consequences of Israel’s participation in UEFA competitions.
“There are a few people in FIFPRO who have contacted me and are impressed with what we are doing and are encouraging more federations to participate.
“It shows that we don’t just shout and people don’t listen.
“People actually look at what we’re doing and are impressed and say, ‘we need more people to step up like PFA Ireland have done’.
“This is coming from FIFPRO itself and they may be looking internally to see what else they can do to help the organisations.”
Contact the author of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]
