Stop the Game Campaign and FAI Participation in Matches against Israel: Motion [Private Members]

Deputy Joanna Byrne

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes:

— the findings of major international human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Palestinian human rights organisations, that Israel operates a system of apartheid against the Palestinian people;

— the ongoing military occupation of Palestinian territories, the expansion of illegal settlements, restrictions on freedom of movement, collective punishment, and repeated attacks on civilians in Gaza and the West Bank;

— the 2016 United Nations (UN) resolution, which reaffirms that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to a two-state solution;

— the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July 2024 entitled "Legal Consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem", which determined that Israel's settlement policies, annexation and exploitation of natural resources violate International Law, and mandated Israel end its occupation, dismantle settlements and pay reparations to the Palestinian people;

— the Prevention of Genocide 2024 and 2025 provisional measures issued by the ICJ, that concluded that Palestinians are at risk of irreparable damage and ordering Israel to prevent genocidal acts that fall under the UN Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and to comply with international humanitarian law;

— that FIFA's statutes prohibit member associations and their clubs from playing on the territory of another member association without that association's approval, Israeli clubs based in illegal West Bank settlements continue to play under the Israel Football Association within the territory of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), without the PFA's consent, and thus contrary to this rule;

— that UEFA, as a confederation, is obliged to comply with, and enforce, FIFA statutes and decisions;

— that at least 1,008 athletes, players and sports officials have been killed in the genocide, and close to 300 sports facilities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank have been destroyed by Israel;

— that at least ten Israeli football clubs are located in occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of the ICJ Advisory Opinion of July 2024, and Article 64.2 of FIFA's statute; and

— Israel's policy of mandatory military service means that team members may have fought with the Israel Occupation Forces when war crimes were committed;

further notes:

— the historic role sport played in isolating apartheid South Africa, and the importance of sporting boycotts in challenging systems of racial segregation and oppression;

— FIFA and UEFA banned Russia in 2022, in response to the decision of the football associations of Czechia, Poland and Sweden to refuse to play Russia in international competition, and no action was taken by FIFA or UEFA against these associations for refusing to play Russia, thus setting a clear legal and moral precedent;

— the UN International Convention against Apartheid in Sports (1985), which recognised that sporting contacts with apartheid states undermine international efforts against racial discrimination and oppression;

— that in November 2025, 93 per cent of Football Association of Ireland (FAI) members voted to instruct the Association to call on UEFA to suspend Israel;

— in May, FAI general assembly members secured the numbers to call an Emergency General Meeting to vote on Ireland's participation in the football matches;

— the growing support across Ireland for the "Stop the Game" campaign, calling on the FAI to refuse participation in international fixtures against Israel, while violations of international law and apartheid policies continue; and

— the strong tradition of solidarity in Ireland with oppressed peoples and anti-apartheid struggles internationally;

recognises that:

— sport cannot be separated from fundamental questions of human rights, equality, and international law;

— Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, affirms every child's right to play and participation in sporting life as integral to their dignity and development, and that the systematic killing of child athletes and destruction of sporting infrastructure in Gaza therefore constitutes not only a violation of international humanitarian law, but a direct and catastrophic assault on the fundamental rights of Palestinian children;

— under the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights, all business enterprises, including sport's governing bodies, have a responsibility to respect human rights', and FIFA and UEFA have each voluntarily committed to meeting this responsibility by incorporating the UNGPs into their statutes and governance frameworks;

— allowing normal sporting relations with states accused of apartheid, and grave breaches of international law, contributes to the normalisation of oppression; and

— Irish sporting bodies, and the Irish Government, have moral and political responsibilities to uphold human rights standards and international law;

believes that UEFA and FIFA should uphold their stated human rights commitments and suspend Israel from international football competitions, until it complies with international law and human rights obligations; and

calls on the Government to:

— support calls from the Irish football community, which includes the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland and Irish Football Supporters Partnership, for the FAI to refuse to participate in the proposed matches against Israel, scheduled for September 27th and October 4th, in protest on legal and moral grounds;

— uphold its obligations under international law to not engage in economic or trade dealings with Israel which may entrench the illegal occupation by implementing meaningful legislation and sanctions, and this extends to sporting and cultural life within illegal settlements, i.e., settlement football clubs, because engagement contributes to the normalisation of occupation and apartheid;

— support the application of the principles contained within the UN International Convention against Apartheid in Sports to states operating systems of racial domination and oppression, and to sign up to this Convention;

— deny any Israeli football players and staff, Israeli officials, including Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports, Makhlouf Zohar, and President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and Israeli fans who have participated in violations of international law, entry into Ireland;

— agree to cover the costs of any financial penalty that the FAI may incur through refusing to play the games; and

— send copies of this motion to the FAI, UEFA and FIFA.

People all over this country, every week, in their tens of thousands, proudly play and watch football in their communities and treasure every moment of it, yet this is denied on a daily basis to those in Palestine and Gaza. At least 1,008 athletes, players and sports officials have been killed in the genocide, and close to 300 sports facilities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank have been destroyed by Israel.

There is no sporting infrastructure left. Stadiums are obliterated. At least ten Israeli football clubs are known to be located in the occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of the ICJ advisory opinion of July 2024 and Article 64.2 of FIFA's statute.

As somebody who was born into a football family, who took my first steps on my beloved club's football pitch and who was hand reared around my local football club, I find it completely incomprehensible that anybody believes our national team should line out against the terrorist state of Israel while this genocide is ongoing. The fact is that Israel should not even be in the Nations League competition. UEFA should have expelled it as soon as it went into Gaza on a genocidal, ethnic cleansing mission that has seen tens of thousands of innocents murdered, including hundreds of sportsmen and women. Israel should have been sanctioned long before that for its breaches, with clubs in illegal settlements built on lands stolen from Palestinians. Despite UEFA and FIFA being in contravention of their own rules, there are no sanctions and no expulsion because they are both serving their own political interests by cosying up to the US and Israeli governments.

Sport cannot be separated from justice and humanity. We have an opportunity now to take a stand, activists, civil society and politicians alike. Anybody who says there is no place for politics in sport neither understands politics nor sport. Not only do we have an opportunity to take a stand, we have an obligation as politicians and community leaders to make a stand because we are elected to act with morality. We cannot sit on the sidelines and watch sporting bodies act selectively according to politics favourable to their own interests. There is a history in this State and in world football of participating in boycotts of nations that violate international law and sporting statutes. We know from apartheid South Africa that the sports boycott was instrumental in bringing apartheid to an end. The international boycott of apartheid South Africa and the swift exclusion of Russia and Belarus by these sporting bodies sit in stark contrast to the current silence and inaction regarding Israel's egregious violations. It screams of double standards and hypocrisy and it legitimises occupation through football. It is abundantly clear that the Irish people do not want these matches to proceed while the Palestinian people are enduring genocide, occupation and apartheid.

The Sinn Féin motion calls on the Government to support the calls of the Irish footballing community to stop the games on legal and moral grounds and to pave a clear pathway forward for the FAI to do the moral thing and refuse to participate in the Nations League fixtures against Israel. These calls are supported by the Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland and the Irish Football Supporters Partnership, trade unions, the vast majority of Irish football fans and, crucially, by members and stakeholders of the FAI itself. In November, 93% of FAI members voted to instruct the association to call on UEFA to suspend Israel from international competitions. As recently as May, FAI general assembly members secured the numbers to call an emergency general meeting to vote on Ireland's participation in these fixtures.

The Government is all over the place on this issue. First, it supported the matches proceeding. Then it washed its hands of it and said it was a matter for the FAI. Then, embarrassingly for the Government, both the Minister and the Minister of State publicly declared that they will not attend the matches, not because they have any moral qualms or want to show respect for international law but because they have realised there is major discontent around the country and it will, inevitably, reflect poorly on them.

An Ireland Thinks poll commissioned by Irish Sport for Palestine released today shows that 56% of Irish people surveyed do not want this match to proceed. All of the Government's flip-flopping as to whether it will stand up and be counted heaps pressure on the boys in green - who just want to play football, might I add - to make a personal decision between right and wrong and whether their own moral conscience will allow them to participate in such a fixture. It leaves them exposed and vulnerable and no player should ever have to carry that burden.

We are offering the Government the opportunity tonight to show real leadership. We are also calling on it to uphold its own obligations under international law. This is bigger than sport or football matches. Sport has the power to send a very strong message of morality. Israel actively uses football to sportswash its image and to extend its territory, while also committing genocide and implementing apartheid. Its slaughter of footballers and bombing of football pitches cannot be accepted or normalised. Front-line Israeli soldiers with blood on their hands lining out against our national team cannot be accepted or normalised. We need to stand firm on the consensus that sportswashing cannot be accepted or normalised. Ireland playing Israel normalises a genocidal regime and gives cover for statute violations, apartheid and war crimes.

The narrative from the Government is around sanctions, implications and consequences for the FAI should it refuse to fulfil these fixtures but with the right support from the Government, the FAI could be empowered to take a moral stance. Rather than damaging the association, I guarantee it will enhance it and its standing. Sport will thrive, national confidence will grow and the Government could be on the right side of that. For a small country, we are a mighty force when we come together. Will the Government join us in ensuring that we stop the games or will it turn its back on Irish football and our national team and hide on the sidelines? Our call is quite clear. It is not to move the game but to simply stop it.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

Hear, hear.

Deputy Joanna Byrne

The crux of the issue is not where the game should be played but who is participating in the fixture. As we debate this tonight, the people of Gaza endure starvation, bombardment, displacement and unimaginable human suffering. Does the Government's conscience allow it to continue with and encourage business as usual? I know that mine does not. I have stood proud and true to the courage of my own convictions on this issue from day one. These fixtures should not proceed.

Deputy Pearse Doherty

This debate is about more than a football match. It is about who we are as a people. Ireland is a small nation but in our history we have sought to play a role in the world that is larger than our size. That role has not been built on military power or economic might but on our instinctive understanding of injustice, our own experience of colonisation, dispossession and partition and our belief that small nations have rights, people have the right to self-determination and international law matters. That tradition has shaped Ireland's place in the world for generations. It is why people took a stand against apartheid in South Africa and why Irish peacekeepers have served with distinction across the globe. It is why Irish neutrality enjoys great public support. It is also why, when people witness suffering, injustice and genocide in Palestine, their instinct is not to look away but to speak out. The people of Ireland expect their Government to reflect those values always, not only when there is no cost, but especially when difficult choices have to be made. The question before us is not really about sport but about whether there comes a point when a nation says that normal business cannot continue. History tells us that there are such moments, occasions when silence is wrong and when neutrality between oppression and injustice is impossible. That is the tradition we inherited and it is the one we should honour. It is the tradition that should guide us today. That is why we need to stop the game.

Deputy Sorca Clarke

For almost three years, we have witnessed horrific destruction in Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinian people. Children have been killed, families buried under rubble, hospitals attacked and entire communities wiped from the map. We have seen starvation, displacement and collective punishment inflicted on a civilian population. When apartheid existed in South Africa and when war engulfed the former Yugoslavia, boycotts and sanctions followed. When Russia invaded Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA acted within days. Yet, despite all of this, there remains a dangerous and pervasive attitude that treats the Israeli state with kid gloves. If international law matters, it matters all of the time. If human rights matter, they matter for all people. If there are consequences for breaching international law, then there can be no exceptions. We are being asked to accept that a state accused of engaging in apartheid, whose actions are subject to an ICJ proceeding, can arrive on Irish soil, have its flag raised, its anthem played and be welcomed as if everything is normal. There is nothing normal about what is happening in Gaza. There is nothing normal about sportswashing or pretending that sport exists separate from international law and human rights. The suggestion to move these games to a neutral venue is not a solution. It is moral cowardice dressed up as compromise. The Irish people have already taken a position. They have stood up and spoken out loudly in solidarity with the Palestinian people. This game should not go ahead on legal and moral grounds. It is time to stop the games.

Deputy Conor D. McGuinness

Táim ag tacú leis an rún seo mar tá dualgas orainn seasamh a ghlacadh nuair a fheicimid éagóir. Tá an domhan tar éis féachaint ar an scrios atá déanta ag Iosrael ar mhuintir na Palaistíne. Tá na mílte fir, mná agus páistí maraithe. Tá pobail leagtha go talamh agus tá páistí ag fás aníos faoi bhuamáil, ocras agus eagla. Tá cúiseamh ann faoi chinedhíothú, coireanna cogaidh agus apartheid. Ní féidir linn leanúint ar aghaidh mar is gnáth agus na himeachtaí seo ar siúl. Tá rud simplí á lorg ag muintir na Palaistíne; tá siad ag iarraidh a bpáistí a thógáil i síocháin. Tá siad ag iarraidh a gclann agus a dtodhchaí a thógáil agus saoirse, dínit agus a gceart a gcinniúint féin a mhúnlú ina dtír féin. Sin an fáth go bhfuilim ag tacú leis an rún seo.

I support this motion because there are moments when people must choose whether to remain silent or to take a stand. The world has witnessed the devastation inflicted on the Palestinian people by Israel. Tens of thousands have been killed. Homes, schools and hospitals have been destroyed.

Children have endured bombardment, hunger, displacement and trauma on a vast scale. Israel is guilty of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of apartheid. These are not matters that can simply be ignored while business continues as usual. The Palestinian people seek what every people seeks: freedom dignity and peace. They want to raise their children safely, build a future, build homes and communities and play football on their own fields and determine their own future in their own homeland. Those aspirations deserve solidarity and support and for those reasons, I support this motion. Israel is not a normal State and it must not be treated as such. Stand up for Palestine, stand up for humanity and stop the game.

Deputy Paul Donnelly

As we look at the history of sports, we see how politics has shaped football when it suits. The usual cry from those who do not want to stop the game is, "It is a game and we should not politicise sports." Let us think back. In Ireland we stood proud as a country when we boycotted the South African apartheid regime. Did this have an impact? Of course it did. The Irish Government of Fianna Fáil blocked the Serbians from playing here when there was a genocide going on in Bosnia. In a few weeks, we will commemorate the massacre in Srebrenica when 7,000 men and boys were murdered. When Russia invaded Ukraine the EU and UEFA could not move quickly enough to impose sporting sanctions on Russia. Tomorrow we will discuss sanctions in relation to Israel. Just today the EU announced a round of 21 sanctions against Russia, but God forbid that we mention sanctions against Israel.

The Taoiseach talks about the impact on Ireland, and as supporter,s that would be difficult. What about the impact the genocide is having on the people of Palestine, on the footballers of Palestine, on the children of Palestine and on the women of Palestine who are being slaughtered? The Taoiseach talks about money and the coefficient. There are two things that this Government can do: give the money that has been lost to the FAI and, more importantly, why not support the FAI at grassroots level for the future? That would certainly improve our coefficient. The Irish people have been clear in poll after poll that they want the game stopped. Let us show leadership across Europe and across the world. Let us stop this game and let us ensure that those people who are committing this genocide are held responsible.

Deputy Pa Daly

If the Minister of State was the manager of an under-16 team and the manager of the other team called or made a racist comment about one of his players, what would he do? He would take his team off the pitch and he would tell the other team to get their act together before he would recommence. If someone stole the land of another and dispossessed them in their thousands, deliberately starved another nation, rained artillery upon them, shot footballers in the foot, used pitches as detention centres, shot 114 children in the head with single bullets, and justified this with a concept of self-defence that is unknown to jurisprudence and that would be ridiculous if it was not so unjust and enraging, would the Minister of State compromise his players and himself by continuing to play against this team? I do not think so.

In January 2024, five-year-old Hind Rajab was trapped in a car alongside her aunt, uncle and four cousins who had all been shot and killed by the Israel Defense Forces, IDF. She spent five terrifying hours on the phone with rescue dispatchers pleading and begging for her life. Paramedics were killed when they tried to help. Eventually, of course, we know that she too was murdered by the IDF who later said that their troops were not within shooting range. No outcome of any investigation was ever published. Her body was recovered two weeks later. There is no accountability in Israel and there are no consequences for its enablers. We cannot continue business as usual with Israel. Suffering and trauma continues in Gaza and the West Bank. My town of Tralee is twinned with a town in the West Bank, Beit Sahour. People are killed queuing for food. Journalists are attacked and killed. Negotiators and peacemakers are killed. There is a hideous thing to be righted. We must show our detestation of the crime that is being committed. While a strike or a boycott might cost us much, what we might lose in points, penalties or fines, we will gain in self-respect and human dignity. The Minister of State must listen to the voices of supporters, read between the lines, listen to the players, listen to the voice of Hind Rajab and stop this game.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I heard the Minister of State's comments and I am struggling genuinely to understand. He told us that he will not go to the game. He will take himself out of it but he expects the players to go. It will not be held, mark my words. It should not go ahead but the Minister of State expects those young men to shake hands with other men from Israel who potentially served in the IDF, men with blood on their hands. The Minister of State wants the players to stand there while they play the Israeli national anthem. He will not do it but he wants a group of young fellows in green to go and do it. The Minister of State expects that they will stand for the Israeli national anthem and shake hands with men that have blood on their hands, but he will not go. For the love and honour of Jesus, will he show some leadership please? There is a genocide. We have seen it. Nobody disputes it. The Minister of State's leader has used the word. There is a genocide. Children are being starved. They do not play sport on the pitches anymore in Palestine. Those pitches are used as detention centres. There are no players left to play sports because they have all either been murdered or shot in the foot, but the Minister of State will not go. That is okay for him but he expects those young men to go. I do not think that is right and I genuinely think that when he reflects on it, he knows it is not right.

He is as aware of our history as I am. In 1983, when Mary Manning refused to handle fruit from apartheid South Africa, she showed leadership. The other ten Dunnes Stores workers who stood with her on the picket line showed leadership. Where she led, the State followed. This is the Minister of State's turn. He can show leadership. He can withdraw his shameful amendment and he can send a clear message about where we stand. We stand with the people who have overwhelmingly told the Government that they do not want this game to go ahead. Show solidarity with the people experiencing genocide, solidarity with Palestine and stop this fucking game.

Deputy Darren O'Rourke

This is a question of Ireland's obligations under international law, our commitment to human rights and our responsibility to act consistently when serious allegations of violations of international law are before us. The Irish football community, campaigners, trade unionists, community organisations and ordinary people rightly say that proceeding with this game risks normalising a situation that demands accountability. They point to the historic role that sporting boycotts played in challenging apartheid in South Africa, the Yugoslav invasion of Kosovo and Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, to name just a few. They ask why quite similar principles should not apply today. The answer is that of course they should. Moving the game to Hungary or anywhere else is no better. If anything, it would be worse as it would deny people the right to protest, it would be an act of sportswashing and it would amount to hiding genocide. It cannot happen. This game cannot go ahead. Instead, the Government should support calls to cancel the game on legal and moral grounds. It should uphold their obligations under international law. It should deny entry to any Israeli football players, staff, fans and government officials who may have participated in violations of international law. It should cover any sanctions the FAI may incur and should sanctions be imposed, support any appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It should sign and ratify the International Convention against Apartheid in Sports and support the calls to ban Israel from all sporting competitions.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

I thank the Deputies. I call on the Minister of State to move the Government's amendment to the motion. He has ten minutes.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Could Members please have a copy of the Minister of State's remarks, as is customary?

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

Yes, copies are available now.

Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (Deputy Charlie McConalogue)

I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"notes:

— that the Irish people are deeply concerned about the conflict in the Middle East and Gulf region, particularly the situation in Palestine, and that the Government is committed to working with key partners to end the conflict;

— that Israeli actions in Palestine consistently contravene international law, and the Government continues to press for appropriate action, both at European Union (EU) and international level, in response to egregious Israeli breaches of human rights and democratic principles;

— Ireland's commitment to working with key partners to end the conflict in Gaza, and to advancing a sustainable peace plan and addressing the huge challenges facing Palestinians in Gaza;

— the Government's grave concerns about the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, with intolerable conditions;

— that Israel must immediately remove restrictions on aid access and facilitate essential supplies and services to reach people across the Gaza Strip;

— the Government's condemnation of the law passed by the Israeli parliament to expand the scope of the death penalty and revive its implementation in Israel and occupied Palestine;

— the particular concerns about the discriminatory nature of the law as it relates to Palestinians, and that the implementation of this law would give rise to serious breaches of international human rights law and international humanitarian law;

— the approval and publication of the text of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026, noting that the Bill fulfils the commitment set out in the Programme for Government, to progress legislation to prohibit the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, and further noting the proposed introduction of the Bill in Dáil Éireann this week;

— that, in line with the Taoiseach's statement, Ireland will act to prevent those members of the Government of Israel who have been instrumental in fomenting the unfolding disaster in Gaza, and the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has instructed immigration officers to refuse entry to Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister of National Security of Israel, and Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Finance of Israel, should they seek to enter Ireland;

— Ireland's support of an EU-wide prohibition on trade with Israeli settlements, and that at both the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) and the FAC Trade in May, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, requested that the European Commission bring forward proposals for a prohibition on EU trade with settlements, on the basis of the EU's Common Commercial Policy, and furthermore, that the Minister also reiterated Ireland's longstanding position that the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended or, at a minimum, that the trade elements should be suspended;

— that a number of other member states supported Ireland's call for stronger collective EU action, and agreed that targeted sanctions alone cannot substitute for meaningful measures relating to trade with illegal settlements; and

— that the Taoiseach also wrote to European Council President, António Costa, on 20th May, reiterating Ireland's position on EU trade with Israel, and requesting an urgent discussion of these issues among EU leaders at the next meeting of the European Council on 18-19 June;

in relation to sport, further notes that:

— the performance and integrity of our top athletes on the international stage have a very positive representational impact for Ireland, as Irish sport provides the world with a window into Ireland and the Irish people, both at home and abroad;

— international success for our top sports people enriches our country in a variety of ways, and Ireland's achievements on the global sporting stage have been a cause of both celebration and inspiration for the Irish public, and will continue to be so into the future; and

— the Government is committed to supporting Irish athletes competing at the highest level of international competition; and

recognises that:

— national governing bodies of sport, such as the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), are independent, autonomous bodies responsible for the governance of their own sports, including the organisation of sporting fixtures, whether in domestic or international competitions;

— it is the role of the FAI to decide to fulfil its UEFA Nations League fixtures against Israel in September (home) and October (away);

— the FAI has stated that it intends to fulfil both fixtures against Israel; and

— the Government acknowledges the FAI's independence and autonomy in arriving at this decision and any decisions it may make in the coming days.".

I thank Sinn Féin for its motion this evening. I wish the Irish ladies' football team well, whose match coincides with this motion. They will start to play very shortly in Grenoble, France, on what could be a really historic occasion. Should they win, it will be the most historic occasion we will have had in Irish women's football, and indeed in Irish football in our history.

I am sure everyone in the Chamber will join me in wishing them really well this evening. Good luck to them.

It is unfortunate that the nature of what we are discussing is very different and grave and that is what we are focusing on, understandably. As we all recognise, people across this country are very deeply concerned about the conflict in the Middle East and the Gulf region, and particularly the situation in Palestine. The Government is committed to working with key partners to end the conflict and advance a sustainable peace plan.

Israeli actions in Palestine consistently contravene international law and the Government continues to press for appropriate action, both at EU and international level, in response to egregious Israeli breaches of human rights and democratic principles. The Government calls on Israel to immediately remove restrictions on aid access and facilitate essential supplies and services to reach people across the Gaza Strip.

There have been many calls for Irish sports organisations to boycott or exclude Israel from international sporting competitions, in the context of the conflict in Gaza. These include, of course, the issue we are discussing tonight, which is the Football Association of Ireland being asked not to fulfil its UEFA Nations League fixtures against Israel in the autumn. It is important to note however that national governing bodies, NGBs, of sport, such as the FAI, are independent, autonomous bodies responsible for the governance of their sports, including the organisation of sporting fixtures, whether in domestic or international competitions. The Government and Sport Ireland have no role in determining or supporting the organisation of such fixtures. At the end of the day, we in this Chamber do not decide who plays who in sport, whether at a domestic or international level.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

That is not what our motion asks of the Minister of State.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

I ask the Deputy to please let the Minister of State speak.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

The Minister of State is raising extraneous matters that are not contained in our motion.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The FAI has stated that it intends to fulfil both fixtures against Israel in accordance with its obligations as a member of UEFA and the Government acknowledges the FAI’s independence and autonomy in arriving at this decision and any decisions it may make in the coming days. The performance and integrity of our top athletes on the international stage have a very positive representational impact for Ireland, as Irish sport provides the world with a window into our country and the Irish people, both at home and abroad. International success for our top sports people enriches our country in a variety of ways. Many of our fondest memories are centred on Ireland’s achievements on the global sporting stage. These achievements have been a cause of celebration and inspiration for the public and will continue to do so into the future. This is why the Government is fully supportive of our athletes competing at the highest level of international competition. However, it is ultimately international sporting federations who are responsible for deciding how to carry out their competitions and who may participate.

International federations, in this case UEFA, have a leadership role for their global games, and it is at this level that strategic decisions should be taken rather than by individual countries’ NGBs.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Shame on you.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The FAI has decided to play the fixtures against Israel in accordance with their obligations as members of UEFA. While there is speculation that the FAI may request that UEFA allow the game to be moved to a neutral venue abroad, this is ultimately a decision for the FAI to make.

While the decision to fulfil the fixtures, or not, is a matter for the FAI, it is important to note that not fulfilling the games could have serious sporting consequences for the Irish team, including losing points, relegation in Nations League standings, weaker seeding for Euro 2028 qualification and harm to its FIFA ranking.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Shame.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

At an operational level, I understand that the FAI is continuing to engage with An Garda Síochána to ensure appropriate preparation for and policing of the home leg of the fixture. The FAI is also engaging with the Norwegian Football Association which hosted a match against Israel in November last year to see if any learnings from its experience can be applied to preparations for the upcoming game in Ireland. Norway played the away leg of its World Cup qualifiers against Israel in Debrecen, Hungary. The FAI is also engaging with the Palestinian Football Association to gather its views on how to prepare for the match.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

You are joking me.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

In addition, the FAI has engaged with the Israeli Football Association, which has confirmed that it does not expect a significant number of Israeli fans to travel to Ireland for the fixture. In accordance with UEFA rules, home legs of fixtures cannot be played in another jurisdiction unless concerns are raised about the capacity for the fixture to be held securely and safely. In this instance, An Garda Síochána has confirmed that it is prepared to police the home game.

While there has been a wholesale exclusion of Russia from most international sporting events, this exclusion is built upon international consensus, driven by international sporting bodies and, within the EU, is linked to sanctions against Russia following its illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Deputies

Hypocrites.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

No such international consensus exists in relation to Israel.

The decision made by RTE in December 2025, to neither participate in nor broadcast the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest due to Israel’s ongoing participation has been referred to in debates. This was an independent decision taken by the State broadcaster, which is legally and editorially independent of Government.

Sport Ireland, which is funded by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, is the statutory body with responsibility for the development of sport, including the allocation of funding across its various programmes. The Sport Ireland-recognised NGBs play a key role in helping to deliver on the strategic priorities identified in the national sports policy.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

What about the genocide?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The funding delivered via Sport Ireland to NGBs is not tied to the operational or administrative models used by NGBs, nationally or locally. All NGBs are independent, autonomous bodies and are responsible for their own governance and decision making, including regarding the organisation of and participation in, international sporting competitions. As Minister of State with responsibility for sport, I have no role in how NGBs organise their sports-----

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

No conscience either. You have a moral obligation.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

-----or in their day-to-day operational functions and nor, indeed, does the Oireachtas or Government. It would not be appropriate for me to intervene-----

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

The Deputies are on the speaking rota. They will get an opportunity to speak. I ask them to let the Minister of State speak.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

It is offensive that we have to listen to this.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I thank the Cathaoirleach.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

Deputies will have ample time to make their contributions on the speaking rota. I ask them to let the Minister of State finish what he is saying.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The FAI is completely within its rights to fulfil its international fixtures, and the Government acknowledges its right to do so. For these reasons, the Government proposes to amend the wording of this motion, as submitted to the House.

Deputy Pearse Doherty

The Minister of State has two minutes on the clock to address the genocide. He has yet to mention it at all or anything that is happening.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

Sinn Féin has ten minutes. Deputies Ward, McGettigan, Ní Raghallaigh agus Newsome Drennan have two and a half minutes each.

Deputy Mark Ward

I raised the issue of stopping the game two weeks ago and I said at the time that the Minister of State’s response was a cop-out. His response tonight is again an absolute cop-out. The amendment he tabled is another cop-out.

I am a season ticket holder for the Irish national team and for a League of Ireland team. I love football. My missus will tell the Minister of State I love it too much. However, I hate the idea of Israel using my sport, the sport I love, to sportswash its way out of genocide.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

Deputy Mark Ward

That is what the Minister of State is standing over. He is complicit in this. The Minister of State can shake his head all he wants. Does he know what else is a cop-out? It is not having the balls to go to the Aviva or wherever the match is going to be on and backing the Irish players. The Minister of State is afraid to go to the match but he will send the young men out in the green to go and play it without any backup from the Irish Government. The Government needs to stand by its convictions if it is going to do it.

The Government has shown no leadership on this whatsoever. It can tell the FAI not to play, and support it in not playing the game. It can tell the FAI it has its back. The FAI is reliant on the Government for funding. That is where the problem lies. It is too terrified of its paymasters to make a decision. If the Minister of State stood up and said, "I will back the FAI. If the FAI decides that it will not play this match, I will have its back", I guarantee there would be a different response from the FAI. The association also needs to not have a cop-out. We are not calling for this match to be moved somewhere else; we are calling for it to be abandoned altogether and not to happen. We are calling for Israel to be put out of UEFA and FIFA competitions altogether. Israel has broken international law. It has also broken the laws of UEFA and FIFA by having ten football teams playing in occupied territories. That is against FIFA and UEFA laws. It should have been put out for that alone.

Deputy Donna McGettigan

I support this motion. The Minister of State’s amendment is shameful. He did not mention once in his speech the genocide going on in Gaza.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Hear, hear.

Deputy Donna McGettigan

Across Ireland, a huge number of organisations, community groups, sporting bodies, trade unions, public representatives and ordinary citizens have spoken out. They are not doing so because this is easy; they are doing so because they believe there comes a time silence becomes complicity.

Genocide is genocide. Moving this match to another venue does not make us any less complicit; it simply makes it out of sight and out of mind. There is no hiding, however, from the reality facing the Palestinian people. We cannot look away from the killing of innocent civilians or the destruction of homes, schools, hospitals and sporting facilities, an infrastructure that should be nurturing the next generation of athletes.

Sport does not exist in a moral vacuum. It never has done. When faced with grave injustices, sporting bodies have acted before. UEFA and FIFA moved with remarkable speed when it came to Russia. Within days of the invasion, Russia was suspended from international competition and countries that refused to play Russia were not penalised. What is the difference? Why is it not the same in this case? The principle was clear then. There are moments when the values sport claims to uphold must be defended. Why should a different standard apply now? Penalties and sanctions that may or may not happen can be appealed, but the consequences facing Palestinian families cannot be appealed. The loss of life and destruction of communities cannot simply be set aside because they are politically inconvenient. There is a moral obligation here. A genocide is being played out before the eyes of the world, yet those responsible appear untouchable. We need to speak up and we need action to confront this suffering. We cannot allow a business-as-usual attitude. This is more than a football match. It is about whether we are prepared to act according to our values. If we believe that sport should not be used to normalise or distract from atrocities, then this match should not go ahead. Stop the game.

Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh

The Ireland-Israel match must not go ahead - not here, not anywhere. The point of this action is to send a message to Israel and the international sporting community that genocide will not be tolerated or normalised. Moving the fixture abroad is just turning a blind eye and prevents the Irish people from expressing their right to protest. The majority of the Irish public is supportive of the boycott. Fans, players and unions are all against the match going ahead. Some 93% of FAI members voted for Israel's suspension. UEFA ignored this and is now standing over an inexcusable double standard having banned Russia in 2022. There is no justification for our playing the terrorist state. Precedent exists. Ireland boycotted the 1936 Olympics due to partitionist rules being imposed on us. The Government opposed the IRFU's tour of South Africa in 1981. Yet now it is happy to accept apartheid and genocide.

We have an obligation under international law to oppose any engagement with occupation. The ICJ ruling provides a legal injunction on top of the moral one we hold as human beings bearing witness to the mass slaughter of Palestinians livestreamed before our very eyes. Under no circumstances should our flag be flown alongside the Israeli flag, or its national anthem sung with our "Amhrán na bhFiann". The green jersey has to mean more than this. It has to stand for more than this.

Caithfidh muidne ar fad sa Teach seo gach cumhacht atá againn a úsáid chun a chinntiú nach rachaidh an cluiche seo ar aghaidh mar is é an rud ceart le déanamh. Ní ceist chasta í seo. Tá fírinne an scéil lom agus duairc, agus ní féidir linn ár gcúl a chasadh leis a thuilleadh. Tá deich bhfoireann sacair de chuid Iosrael ag imirt ar pháirceanna a goideadh ó Phalaistínigh. Tá 1,008 fir agus mná spóirt maraithe ag Stát Iosrael. Ní féidir linn, mar sin, seasamh thart agus an dallamullóg a chur orainn féin. Tá an spórt polaitiúil. Ní féidir an spórt agus an pholaitíocht a dheighilt óna chéile, go háirithe agus cinedhíothú ar bun. Cuir deireadh leis an gcluiche.

Deputy Natasha Newsome Drennan

The call to stop the Ireland-Israel football match has overwhelming support from the Irish public, yet somehow some Government TDs are trying to paint it as a controversial move. I cannot understand why we need to even think about whether or not it is okay to welcome Israel here. It is an apartheid state that has inflicted mass genocide on the people of Palestine.

Let us remember the double standards. When Russia and Belarus invaded Ukraine, it took UEFA and FIFA just four days to ban them, but Israel? Complete inaction. On one hand, our Government tells us Israel is carrying out a genocide; on the other hand, it welcomes Israel's team into our capital city. We have a simple but powerful opportunity here to say no - no to apartheid, no to genocide. Has the Government just decided to throw the numerous UN conventions on genocide, the rights of children and apartheid in sport straight out the window? History shows that sporting boycotts work. Banning South Africa from sport helped dismantle apartheid. Just last year, cities refused to host Israel's cycling teams. That crippled Israel's sportswashing in cycling, effectively bringing it to a complete end.

Ireland now has a historic opportunity to tell the world we will not treat an apartheid state as an equal by welcoming it here to Dublin. Will we say, "No, Ireland will not stand side by side with an apartheid state"? Most importantly, we have a chance to say to the people of Palestine, "We have not forgotten you and we will never be silent while Israel's brutal system of apartheid continues." Stop the match. Take a stand.

I have four boys at home who absolutely adore sport. What kind of a mother would I be to say, "Yes, these folk are getting away with absolute murder, but the Government and we as people who are elected by the people of Ireland will not stand up and make a stand"? There should be consequences. What are we teaching our children? That you can get away with murder. It is wrong. Stop the game.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

Next we have the Social Democrats speaking slot. Deputy Gibney and Deputy Gannon are sharing time.

Deputy Sinéad Gibney

I thank and commend Sinn Féin on bringing forward this motion, which sets out very clearly the mechanisms available to the Government to assist the FAI in making the right decision and, basically, to stop the game. That is what it does. It gives the Government the clear tools that we know will work should it choose to act and should it choose to show leadership.

I will talk first about leadership because what we have not seen from this Government is leadership on this issue. Since February, when we knew this was an issue, when we were drawn against Israel and the FAI came out very quickly and said what its plans were, there has been nothing from the Government. There has been nothing to assure us that it is even looking into this, dealing with it or engaging with the issue at all. Quite recently, in committee, I asked the Minister of State about anything he and his colleague the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, had done regarding the broadcasting side of things and there was very little by way of satisfactory answer. The response basically seems to be, "It is an FAI decision and we are not going to go near it."

Of course, the Government cites "governance" as the reason that it cannot do this and states that the FAI is a sports governing body and there is no place for politics in that. However, I have seen governance weaponised by Cabinet Ministers in this Government whereby, essentially, when it suits them to take action or engage appropriately with particular bodies, they will choose to do so, and when it does not suit them, they decide to leave their hands off. This is in stark contrast to the leadership shown by Deputy Joanna Byrne, who has taken on great personal sacrifice for her stance on this issue. She is to be commended. She is representative of a football community here in Ireland which has shown the same resolve and the same leadership in saying, "We will not tolerate this and we do not want this game to go ahead."

It must be deafening for the Minister of State to hear the cacophony of support and the growing momentum that I told him two weeks ago would happen for the Stop the Game campaign. It must be deafening for him and his colleagues who have decided, instead of showing leadership, to say, "We will not go to the match because". They have not said why but presumably it is because the Minister of State does not support sportswashing, although he denied in that committee that he would even call this sportswashing. He has said he will not go to the match, will not engage with the FAI and will not do anything to influence it to change its decision, yet what he will do is support its position and, potentially, support the removal of this match to another location, which would mean that all of this would fall on the shoulders of the Irish national team. Those men would be asked to make a choice to step onto that pitch or not. From day one, this is the very thing I warned we needed to avoid. That pressure should not be placed on them.

They have worked their whole lives for a particular goal but are surrounded by a country telling them that this game should not go ahead and they have to make that decision. That is so unfair. It is a direct result of the lack of leadership that is being shown by the Government on this specific issue.

This genocide has been going on for two and a half years. It is being livestreamed onto all of our phones. Some 75,000 men, women and children are dead in Palestine, although we all know that is a conservative figure because of the formulation of those statistics, which require a various set of data to determine that. We know that these figures are not representative of the true atrocity that Israel is inflicting in Gaza and increasingly in the West Bank and in Lebanon. Eleven children a day now die or get injured in Lebanon because of Israeli strikes and 20% of the country is occupied. They are not stopping. They will not stop. The global order is not going to stop them. If you read Francesca Albanese's most recent book, When the World Sleeps, what she will tell you is what we have to do - the only thing that we can do - is sanction them and boycott them. We have to distance ourselves from Israel and say that we do not support this. This is a beautiful opportunity for the Government to do that.

The Minister of State said something in his speech about no such international consensus existing in relation to Israel. That was following the comments on why it is not the same as the Russian example. That comment really irks me because time and again his colleagues stand in this Chamber and tell me that we need to reach international or European level consensus to be effective against Israel. If that consensus does not exist, which the Minister of State has conceded in his speech, then how do we start it? We stand up and we are leaders. That is what we do. We say we are not going to play Israel and then all of a sudden other countries have to answer the same question and we start to see these things happen. It is exactly what happened with Mary Manning refusing to handle a grapefruit in Dunnes Stores decades ago, which we know now has been lauded as a key part in the drive towards dismantling the apartheid South African state.

The fragmentation that is being perpetrated on the Palestinian people, includes the tactic of dividing communities literally and physically on a map, but also within communities by taking children out of homes and detaining them for long enough that their communities are suspicious of them when they go back. These atrocities amount to an organised genocide. They have been practising and preparing for it for decades, and this is their final phase. We are standing complicit if we do not act. The thing that angers all of us the most is the impunity. Again, here is his opportunity to deal with that - to show them that this cannot happen.

I will talk about some of the specific ways in which football has been a feature of this genocide because Israel has at least ten football teams playing on illegally occupied Palestinian territory. Israel has killed over 1,000 Palestinian football players and sportspeople. Just last week, two members of the Palestinian women's team were detained. All sports facilities and infrastructure have been destroyed. Article 72.2 of FIFA statutes states: "Member associations and their clubs may not play on the territory of another member association without the latter's approval." The ICJ ruling on occupied territories in 2024 was that the territories are illegal, ergo, it is illegal. There is ample evidence for why Israel should not be playing in these competitions. The Minister of State essentially threw up his hands and the way he put it in his speech was that the decision lies with UEFA and FIFA to decide against it. He said that "it is at this level that strategic decisions should be taken rather than by individual countries' NGBs." If the Minister of State is waiting for UEFA or FIFA to do it, then he is going to be waiting a while, so what we have to do as a country is stand up and start the process. We must stand up in solidarity with the people who are being killed in Palestine, Gaza, the West Bank and now in Lebanon.

I will touch on some of those legal obligations because, obviously, we have the Genocide Convention and the ICJ ruling, of which the Government is the custodian. It is the one who has to carry out the responsibilities that we have as a State under those. We also have to ratify the UN's International Convention against Apartheid in Sports. I want to touch on the Court of Arbitration for Sport. One of the reasons that is put forward is the potential sanctions and financial implications of this. If we look at the case law from that particular jurisdiction, it seems to me quite clear that UEFA will not be able to impose any such sanctions. You need to grow a pair, as a Government, and do this and stop the game.

Deputy Joanna Byrne

Hear, hear.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Hear, hear.

Deputy Gary Gannon

One of the most lamentable things I have heard over the last couple of weeks and months as we talk about whether Ireland should fulfil its fixture against a country we believe is enacting a genocide against another is when people say, "But sure Ireland might lose six points". Ireland might lose six points in a Nations League division 2 game and potentially be put down into division 3, but so what? What do we actually lose even more of if we do fulfil a fixture? A couple of years ago Ireland aligned itself to South Africa's case in the ICJ that Israel was committing genocide against the people of Palestine, yet now somehow we expect people adorned in green jerseys to go out onto a pitch, listen to "Amhrán na bhFiann" and then watch the flag of the same nation that we believe is committing genocide against another people - we have aligned ourselves to a case in the ICJ in this regard. I imagine that if we do that we would lose a hell of a lot more than six points. We would lose a portion of ourselves that believes we can call out what is right and what is wrong.

One of the other sadder things people say is that we should not mix politics and sport. When did we become a people who believe that politics and sport should not mix? That appears to me to be a new phenomenon. We, rightly, did not raise objections in 1961 or again in 1976 when apartheid South Africa was suspended by FIFA and, rightly, expelled because of the apartheid it inflicted upon its people. We rightly did not object when the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, intervened and said that we should not fulfil a fixture against Yugoslavia. Again in 2022 and 2023, we rightly believed that Russia should not partake in sports at any level because of its horrific invasion of Ukraine. Now and only now do we say that politics and sport should not mix. It would seem a luxury on our part if we were to tell the athletes in Palestine and Gaza, who have been directly targeted precisely because of their profile by the State of Israel that politics and sport should not mix.

According to the Hind Rajab Foundation, soldiers in Gaza are planting Beitar, Hapoel and Maccabi Haifa flags in the ruins of Palestinian homes and dedicating killings to their clubs. They tag neighbourhood walls with ultras' slogans and they pose for selfies that are then celebrated by online supporter networks. Israeli soldiers are bringing stadium culture and battlefield atrocity and making it merge seamlessly in the ruins of destroyed homes where people have been killed. This is what we have rightly called a genocide and aligned ourselves to.

This is not about six points in a Nations League division 2 game. It is not about whether the FAI might lose a bit of its income. It is actually about who we are as a people - a people who have known oppression, who have learned lessons from the many horrors and atrocities of the past and who recognise that never again should mean precisely that. We willingly signed up to the prevention of genocide convention. In doing so, we did not say we will commit ourselves to doing all we can to prevent genocide with the exception of maybe sacrificing six points in a division 2 Nations League game.

The Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, and the Minister in the Department of sport said that they are not going to attend the game. I say "well done" to the Minister, but I believe in leading from the front. If the Minister of State holds the position that he is not going to attend the game, he should not ask any other young Irish person to stand on a pitch, listen to the national anthem and watch the flag of a state being waved that we believe is committing genocide against another.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

Just before I move on, I want to point out to Members that Deputy Gibney's comment at the end directed towards the Minister of State was unparliamentary.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Which one? What was unparliamentary?

Deputy Sinéad Gibney

What was it?

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

It was at the very end of the Deputy's comments. I am not going to repeat it. I just ask that she would not make such comments in this House.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

I thought it was a most appropriate comment.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

No, not in this House. It was unparliamentary language to use in this House and it was directed personally towards a Member of this House.

Deputy Sinéad Gibney

I said "the Government" actually.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

No, it was directed towards the Minister. It is unparliamentary to make that comment.

The Labour Party has 12 minutes. Deputy Smith will be followed by Deputies Lawlor, Wall and Sheehan.

Deputy Duncan Smith

I thank and commend Sinn Féin and Deputy Byrne, in particular, on bringing this motion forward. There is another motion being brought forward tomorrow by the Social Democrats and I am thankful it is being brought forward as well.

Football is like no other sport. It is the world's game. It is the global game. It cuts through class, identity and borders like no other. It unites people. It has a long history of expression and political expression, whether it is the troops in the fields of Flanders in 1914 or the numerous examples of boycotting or expelling countries for gross violations of human rights or apartheid, such as South Africa. It is a part of who we are. When you tell someone which football team you support, it identifies you in a way that is outside of your friends, family and community. It adds a layer of understanding to the individual. When we combine that with patriotism and with our country, it is an expression of who we are.

Therefore, when people ask why we are so exercised about these two games against Israel going ahead, it is because it is an expression of who we are. We are not a country that in any way wants to endorse, celebrate or stand shoulder to shoulder and engage in regular sporting competition with a state that commits genocide. That is it. It is not easy, and it will have some consequences. What are the consequences? It is losing some points. There may be some financial consequences. We may have to answer to some people in UEFA. We should be leading the charge to UEFA in terms of garnering support for others to stand should to shoulder and say "No, we do not accept this from the State of Israel". It is not a normal state. It is obliterating the international rules and international law. It is committing genocide. It is carrying out illegal ongoing occupations in the West Bank. It is continuing to launch invasions and ethnic cleansing up through Lebanon. We saw today more killings taking place in the city of Tyre.

We do not bat an eyelid when there are sanctions against Russia in the sporting world, and rightly so. In times gone by, we did not bat an eyelid in terms of sanctioning South Africa, and rightly so, but why this exceptionalism? Why do we in Europe, in the global north, in the western world or whatever you want to call it continue to embrace Israel as a normal state in our neighbourhood when it is anything but? It is an abhorrent and criminal state that is carrying out the worst atrocities on a number of fronts at this moment, and has been at an intense rate for the last two and a half years at least. That is not going back any further but we can if we want because its crimes go back many decades.

The Taoiseach accuses us of moralising on this issue. Yes, it is the moral issue. It is a moral issue. It is immoral to play these games. It is immoral to welcome Israel and stand shoulder to shoulder and compete with Israel in international sporting competition. The higher that sporting competition is and the higher the profile and the more accepted it is, such as the global game of soccer, the more immoral it becomes and the stronger the stance we have to take.

I am proud of being Irish for many reasons but I am proud of the stances we as individuals, as communities and as governments over the years of different combinations and hues have taken against despotic regimes, international crimes and apartheid regimes. I am ashamed that we are not doing that the way we should right now.

If this all washes through our Parliament over the next number of months, all we may have to show is a couple of things - a recognition of the State of Palestine, which is not unimportant, and a watered down version of the occupied territories Bill. That is not good enough. That does not reflect what the Irish people believe and what the Irish people want.

More specifically, speaking about football, the majority of Irish football fans do not want this game to go ahead. The majority of Irish football players do not want this game to go ahead. The majority of the FAI general assembly do not want this game to go ahead. Together in this Chamber, we have an opportunity with these two matches to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Palestine, the West Bank and Gaza, and southern Lebanon and to say "No", that we will support our FAI and our footballers through whatever sanctions will be imposed on them and that we will look for support from other European nations and nations beyond Europe to stand up to Israel in football and in other sports.

The FAI's decision to move this to a neutral venue is an answer to a question nobody asked. This game should not take place in a neutral venue. It should just not take place. We need to stop the game.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

Deputy George Lawlor

Hand-wringing is complicity. We, as a nation, have always prided ourselves on standing on the side of justice, humanity and, indeed, international law but today, as the world watches the ongoing devastation in Gaza and the mounting civilian death toll of 73,000 to 75,000 - we do not fully know - men, women and children, our Government hesitates. This hesitation is absolutely unacceptable. It is time - indeed, it is past time - for us to show leadership worthy of our values and for us, as parliamentarians, to show absolute leadership and direction. We must demand that UEFA acts with moral clarity and expels Israel from international football. UEFA cannot preach respect, equality and, indeed, fair play while allowing a state engaged in relentless disproportionate violence against civilians to participate as though nothing is happening.

Sport does not exist in a vacuum. Football cannot be a sanctuary for cheerleaders of atrocity. Ireland must not hide behind process or, indeed, bureaucracy. We must be the country that says what others are afraid to say. We must insist unequivocally that the upcoming nations league fixture involving Israel does not go ahead - not in Dublin, not anywhere. To go ahead with these matches would be to normalise what is the abnormal and pretend that the suffering of thousands through state sponsored slaughter can be brushed aside for 90 minutes of football.

Our Government must use its voice and use its influence. We have done it before; we can do it again. The world remembers with Ireland stood against apartheid. The world remembers when Ireland championed peace and human rights. This is not about politics. It is about humanity. It is about refusing to look away. It is about demanding that UEFA lives up to its own principles. It is about Ireland leading both bravely and apologetically when leadership is most needed. The time for caution is over. The time for action is now.

Deputy Conor Sheehan

Hear, hear.

Deputy Mark Wall

I thank Deputy Byrne and Sinn Féin and, indeed, the Social Democrats for the two motions before this House. In making any decision, it is important to consider the facts and why we are here tonight to discuss this game of football. The facts are that over 70,000 people have been killed during Israel’s genocidal campaign against the people of Palestine. This number is growing every day of these months of a so-called ceasefire agreement.

The unbearable fact is that even during this ceasefire, at least two children per day have been killed. Let that sink into this debate tonight. These children, I am sure like many children around the world, were dreaming of playing football for some far-flung favourite team or just having a game with their friends among the rubble or the tents they now call home. Two in three children are now at risk of infection due to the plagues of rats, mice and insects. This ceasefire has delivered nothing but more pain and suffering for the people of Palestine. Only yesterday, Israel announced that it is closing the border crossings into the Gaza Strip. No aid will get into Gaza. There will be no access to food, water or vital medicines for a population that has had its healthcare system destroyed by Israel.

This is simply why this match cannot be played. Others have said tonight, and I totally agree with them, that we are a proud football nation and we cannot and should not subject our players to having to play against the State of Israel and the genocide it continues to carry out against the Palestinian people. Hiding this game in some other country is simply not dealing with the substantial issue and is a cop-out.

The facts are clear. The children of Palestine have suffered and are suffering death and injury on a daily basis. For their dreams and their safety, Ireland should not play this game. Stop this game.

Deputy Conor Sheehan

I thank Deputy Joanna Byrne for introducing this motion. She has shown real bravery and leadership on this issue. We have a proud history of standing up against injustice, whether it was the stance we took on apartheid in South Africa or the recognition of Palestinian statehood. In June 1999, the then Fianna Fáil Government showed leadership in relation to this in refusing to grant entry visas to the Yugoslav national football team, which blocked the scheduled Euro 2000 match in Dublin. Moving the fixture is a complete cop-out. The State can and must step in. There is a precedent. This is forcing our young players into an impossible position where individual athletes must choose between their international careers and their conscience.

I am asking the Government to show some leadership because when I think of this genocide, I am particularly haunted by an interview with the British surgeon Nick Maynard, who was talking about Palestinian boys being shot by IDF soldiers. Each day, the soldiers would shoot a different limb, almost like target practice. One day, they were shooting them in the testicles; another day, they were shooting them in the arm; and another day, it was the legs. These are very young boys. Many of us have sons, nieces, nephews, cousins or godchildren. These are the people who should be able to go out and play football freely and not have to worry about being shot at aid posts.

We cannot stand by and watch the utter destruction of Palestinian life and the obliteration of Palestine. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, UEFA and FIFA did not hesitate. I am conscious that Kaja Kallas is about 250 m from this Chamber today. We know the EU took a firm stance in relation to what was going on with Russia but, as usual with international bodies in this world, when is a war crime not a war crime? It is when Israel is doing it.

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman

I thank Deputy Joanna Byrne and her colleagues in Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion this evening. The Green Party will be supporting this motion and also the motion being brought forward by the Social Democrats tomorrow. In particular, I thank the leadership of the Stop The Game campaign that has operated across Ireland in recent weeks. It is a campaign made up of grassroots supporters, passionate supporters of football in Ireland. They are people who dedicate so much of their lives to supporting our national teams in all their shapes and sizes. They are also people who are not prepared to allow our national teams, our national jersey and our national flag to be used as tools of sportswashing the genocide that is taking place in Gaza. I salute their leadership.

I feel that leadership is lacking in Government and the FAI. It is simply not good enough to say that this match can be played abroad in a supposedly neutral venue, somewhere where Irish people will not be able to demonstrate our abhorrence of this game taking place. It is not enough for this game to be played behind closed doors without a crowd because out of sight is not out of mind and Irish football supporters are not prepared to see our national jersey used in this particular way. Nor is it good enough, as some have suggested, that it should be left up to the individual consciences of players - let them decide if they want to play or not. That is far too much pressure and far too great an obligation to put on young sportspeople at the beginning of their careers. What we need to see is leadership from the Government to give a very clear statement that Ireland should not play this match in any circumstances and let that be followed up by the FAI, recognising there are consequences to that. We see those consequences and we meet them with our eyes open.

In just four weeks' time, Ireland will take on the Presidency of the EU. The themes we have adopted for that Presidency are competitiveness, security and values and yet on this issue and on the issue of Palestinian statehood, too often, we allow our values to be trimmed due to fear. We are trimming our values on the issue of whether Ireland should play this match. Tomorrow, we will see our values trimmed when an occupied territories Bill lite, minus services, will be guillotined before this House. Ireland should not allow our values to be shaped by fear of the Trump administration. We should say "No" to this match and we should say "Yes" to an occupied territories Bill that includes services.

Deputy Charles Ward

I thank Deputy Joanna Byrne for bringing forward this motion from Sinn Féin. I am proud to stand with my constituents in Donegal and countless people across the country and wholeheartedly support the Stop The Game campaign. After more than two years of watching Israel commit genocide against the Palestinian people in real time, we cannot allow Israel to use sport to normalise its crimes. This autumn's Nations League game between Ireland and Israel must be called off. Poll after poll shows the majority of people in Ireland do not want to see this game played. Instead they want sanctions against Israel for the horrific crimes it has continued to commit and the genocide that is still ongoing. Even players do not want to play this game. As Donegal man Séamus Coleman said, players have a heart, they know what is right and what is wrong. He said, "It's awful, it is extremely sad and it's a very difficult position for the players to be in." It is ridiculous that the players have been put in this situation and have to come out and answer.

UEFA's Equal Game campaign states that everyone should be able to enjoy football regardless of who or where they are or how they play the game. The hypocrisy is staggering. The Palestinian people have not been given the freedom to enjoy football or any other sport. According to the Palestinian Football Association, Israel has killed 1,007 members of the Gaza sports community. Between October 2023 and February 2026, 184 sports facilities, stadiums, halls and headquarters were completely destroyed and a further 81 facilities were partially destroyed. Meanwhile stadiums have been turned into shelters for displaced people. Israel has stripped the Palestinian people of the opportunity to play, watch and enjoy football, yet there are no consequences for this. UEFA sits back and allows Israel to engage in sportswashing in an attempt to distract from its crimes against the Palestinian people. Israel is not a normal state and should not be treated as a normal state.

It is often said that there is no place for politics in sport but sport is inherently political. Sport reflects the shapes of wider social, economic and political realisation. Countries and sporting bodies use the likes of the Nations League and the World Cup to promote their national identities. Playing the Israeli team is a political act and it normalises the violation of international law. Israeli teams must be excluded from sporting events by the governing bodies UEFA and FIFA.

Deputy Seamus Healy

I welcome this motion and will also support tomorrow's motion from the Social Democrats. Ireland must lead an international campaign to exclude Israel, a genocidal apartheid state, from all sporting fixtures and competitions and there must be no soccer games between Ireland and Israel at home in Ireland or on neutral grounds abroad. There is significant and growing opposition to these fixtures. In November 2025, 93% of FAI members voted to instruct the association to call on UEFA to suspend Israel. In May of this year, FAI general assembly members secured the numbers needed to call an emergency general meeting to vote on Ireland's participation in these soccer games. The call to refuse to play Israel is supported by the Irish football community, including the Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland and the Irish Football Supporters Partnership. Indeed, Irish Sport for Palestine has commenced judicial review proceedings.

There is precedent for stopping these fixtures. In 1999, the then Fianna Fáil government prevented the Euro 2000 qualifier between Ireland and Yugoslavia because of Serbian atrocities in Kosovo and in 2022, FIFA and UEFA banned Russia from all club and international games after Poland and Sweden refused to play World Cup qualifiers.

Ireland as a nation and as a people must not be complicit in genocide. We have a particular link with the Palestinian people through our own long history of British imperialist domination and our own genocidal famine, an Gorta Mór.

Israel is still committing a genocide in Gaza and 75,000 Palestinians have died, including 20,000 children. Gaza itself is a wasteland. Water, energy, healthcare and educational infrastructure have been wiped out and 1,000 Palestinians have died since the ceasefire was announced. Under international law, Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal. There are over 250 settlements with about 500,000 people there. These numbers are expanding on a daily basis. Settler violence is an ongoing threat to Palestinians in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem and campaigns of harassment continue on a daily basis.

This violence also targets Palestinian Christians. Their numbers have dropped tenfold. Seventy years ago Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, was 86% Christian. It is now 12% Christian. Israel's strategy against Christians is a combination of violence, economic hardship, permanent siege, apartheid and it is doing this to drive Palestinian Christians out of their homeland. Israel must be brought to book. Stopping the Irish-Israel fixtures would be a small but vital step in that direction.

Deputy Paul Murphy

The Government response to public opinion, to the stop the game campaign and to the massive pressure it is now under is a continuation to its basic approach to the issue of Palestine. It is to have words. It is to hide. It is to engage in cowardice. In this case, it is to hide behind the FAI. The Minister for sport says he will personally not go to the game but then hides behind the FAI and refuses to take a clear position.

What is needed from the Government is absolutely clear and it is what is being called for. The Government needs to make a clear statement about its opposition to playing the genocidal team of Israel, call for its exclusion from international sport and then it needs to say it is going to back up the FAI in that and ensure that grassroots football will not pay any price as a result of taking a principled position. What the Government needs to do is very simple.

I find it astounding that there is an amendment from an opposition party tonight. Independent Ireland is calling for serious consideration to matches being played behind closed doors, thinking that somehow if we close the doors and play this genocidal team it somehow makes it okay. Let us be clear why there is mass support and calls for boycotting these games. It is because Israel has been committing a genocide for almost three years where it is likely that the death toll in reality is well over 100,000 people, where the vast majority of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed and where this is all continuing today. We know, in terms of the impact of sport, that 1,000 Palestinian athletes and over 560 footballers have been killed.

As for this idea that sport and politics have nothing to do with each other, look at what is happening in America right now where a Somalian referee has been refused access to referee the World Cup because of the racist policies of the US Government. An Iranian team are going to have to fly in and out to play games because of the murderous assault being rained down on them by the US and Israel. Football and sport are absolutely political.

Let us not act like the members of the Israeli national team are some innocent civilians. Many of them are former IDF terrorists. It is even more insidious than that because many of them qualify for an exception as athletes but chose to join the IDF in any case. I will give two examples. Number 10, Manor Solomon, stated that Palestinians were killing their own people and blaming Israel. His hatred for the people of Gaza is so well known that fans of his former club made up the chant of "He looks good, he looks fine, he hates Palestine". Shon Weissman is a forward who had a transfer to another club cancelled over his support for the genocide of Palestinians. He said that Israel should wipe Gaza off the map. Of course, we should not be playing these people. Ireland should be leading the way in isolating Israel on the world stage. That starts with stopping the game.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

The Independent Technical Group has 12 minutes. Deputy Collins has three and a half minutes; Deputy O'Donoghue has three minutes; Deputy Tóibín has three and a half minutes; and Deputy Gogarty has two minutes.

Deputy Michael Collins

Let me begin by saying something very clearly: the humanitarian situation in Gaza is heartbreaking. The loss of innocent civilian life, the suffering of families, the destruction of homes, schools and hospitals and the terrible impact of this conflict on ordinary people should concern every decent person. We in Independent Ireland condemn violence against civilians where it occurs and we support every effort to achieve a just peace and lasting resolution to this conflict. Nobody should mistake our amendment for indifference. It is not. However, we believe that we must also recognise another important principle: sport should not become a tool of political direction by Government or opposition.

The Sinn Féin motion seeks to place the Football Association of Ireland and Irish athletes at the centre of an international political dispute. We do not believe that is fair. Irish sports people have devoted years of their lives to representing their country. They have trained, sacrificed and worked tirelessly for the opportunity to compete at the highest level. They should not be asked to carry the burden of resolving conflicts that are far beyond their control.

If international sporting sanctions are to be imposed, those decisions should be made by the recognised international sporting authorities. UEFA and FIFA exist precisely to govern international football and to make decisions regarding participation, suspension and fixtures. Whether people agree with their decisions or not, those are the bodies charged with that responsibility. Governments should not be dictating who national teams play. Political parties should not be deciding which fixtures go ahead. Once we cross that line, sports risk becoming another battleground for political disputes rather than a space where people from different backgrounds can come together. Political parties are long enough in this Dáil saying religion and politics should not go together. Now it is time there is a separation between sports and politics. We must also consider the wider consequences.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

That is absolute rubbish.

Deputy Michael Collins

Excuse me, I did not interrupt you when you were speaking.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

You are welcome to.

Deputy Michael Collins

I did not interrupt you.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

Deputy, please.

Deputy Michael Collins

A unilateral refusal to participate in fixtures could have serious implications for Irish football. It could affect our players, our supporters, our future participation in competitions and even Ireland's reputation as a host nation for international sporting events. Those consequences would not fall on politicians. They would fall on athletes, fans and sporting organisations.

Our amendment takes a balanced approach. It acknowledges the genuine concerns expressed by many people regarding the conflict. It recognises the importance of international law and protection of civilians but it also recognises that responsibilities for resolving international political conflicts should not be placed on the shoulders of Irish footballers. Where there are concerns around public order or safety surrounding fixtures, those matters should be addressed properly. That is why our amendment calls for a comprehensive security assessment involving Government Departments, An Garda Síochána and the FAI, with consideration given to matches being played behind closed doors if necessary. Sport should unite people, not divide them. We can stand for peace, human rights and humanitarian principles while also respecting the independence of sporting organisations and protecting the interests of Irish athletes.

I welcome the fact the Government now appears to have adopted a position put forward by Independent Ireland's amendment. While there may be differences elsewhere in the motion, on the central question of sport, the Government has arrived on the same conclusion we did. We all recognise the terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to stand up for international law but we also recognise that Irish athletes should not be punished for events beyond their control. Decisions on international fixtures belong to the FAI, UEFA and FIFA. Sport should unite people and not become another battlefield for political disputes. That is why we are putting forward our amendment here this evening.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

Any life that is taken is wrong. I am coming in here as a broker of peace. Ireland should be a broker of peace. People can talk about what is happening in Gaza, which is 100% wrong. Where a life is taken and families are destroyed anywhere in the world is 100% wrong but look at Irish history. There are people in this House who have been involved in the taking of lives. They are sitting in this House.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Where?

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

When we look at traditional parties going back through the years and the wars that happened here in Ireland behind closed doors and everything else that happened, it was wrong.

I stand for peace. What I would not mind seeing with the match they are talking about is both sides coming out, sitting down in the middle of the field, saying they are not playing because of peace and linking arms together. That is what I would like to see and I would like to see unity shown that way, rather than this being a political football being played inside here for popularity.

I will say what I feel. I broker peace. I would like to see peace happening. I would like to see that across the world, and in Gaza. I would like to see it across football. Let them link arms together and say, "Lads, this is wrong. We want peace". That is what I would like to see.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

I ask Deputy O'Donoghue to be very careful when making comments in the House. I do not think the comments he made were correct.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

I did not name any names. The rules of the House are that when you do not mention a name, you can mention what you like.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

Deputy Tóibín is not here. I call Deputy Gogarty.

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. If Deputy Tóibín comes in, I will cede to him.

I support this motion in principle and if gets to a vote, I will vote in favour of it, in some ways, symbolically. The message has to be sent out in any forum that Ireland stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine. We know we will ultimately vote on the Government's amendment, which I will not support.

In the context of what people are being asked, and I hope this will be the case after the debate, I agree that the Government should make it easy for the FAI to make a decision. If the FAI has to make a decision, it has to do so on the back of cowardice by FIFA and UEFA. They did not take the same approach to the genocidal Israeli regime as they did to Russia when it invaded Ukraine. By the same token, there are a couple of other countries I would add to that as regards being murderous and mistreating their own people. However, the Israelis take the biscuit. I say that while condemning Hamas wholeheartedly, acknowledging that innocent Israelis have been killed and condemning that. At the same time, Israel has killed multiples more Palestinian people. What it has done in Gaza is genocide. The Irish Government has gone to some lengths in regard to the International Court of Justice, the watered-down occupied territories Bill, which we should be pushing further, and the debates we have had on the financial situation and how far we should be pushing our European colleagues. I acknowledge that the Germans, the Danish and the Cypriots have different approaches to this and that is why it is very hard, in a Europe-wide context, to get absolute righteous condemnation of what the Israeli state has been doing.

Should the FAI decide to carry on with the matches, for whatever reason, I do not think anyone in this House or in the campaign should criticise it for not being as morally upright as someone else. We are in a particular situation in relation to this. We can make our own self-sacrifice and be potentially relegated in respect of our placings. We could lose out on automatic qualification. I hope things go well and we are in the European Football Championship anyway. Fundamentally, by handing six points to the Israeli team, we would give them a gilt-edged welcome to come to these islands for the championship. That would be a much bigger boon for the Israeli team than knocking them off the pitch. That is a fair argument. I am not going to vote that way but we should get into a situation where we say, "I am more a supporter of Gaza than you" or "Your decision is morally corrupt or bankrupt".

People are in a difficult situation. Maybe the Government should take the decision out of the FAI's hands and the FAI should maybe recognise what its members are saying and make the decision. If it does not do so, we should call for the match to be stopped all the way along but we should not criticise people for making a genuine and tough decision. In essence, we are going to lose one way or the other. I do not want to see the Israel team coming over here as competitors in Europe but, at the same time, I cannot stand over the match going ahead. That is why I support the motion.

Deputy Carol Nolan

I will be supporting the measured and balanced amendment proposed by Deputies Collins, O'Donoghue, O'Flynn and Fitzmaurice. Let me make clear that I recognise the grave humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the continuing heartbreaking loss of innocent civilian life. No one with a conscience can look at the suffering of families and children there and remained unmoved. I also unequivocally condemn all acts of terrorism, violence and attacks on citizens and civilians, wherever they occur, such as the barbaric attack by Hamas when innocent men and women were murdered at a music festival. That was particularly sickening and should not have happened either.

The recognition of suffering cannot justify turning Irish sport into a political battlefield. Sport must be depoliticised as much as possible. Irish sportspeople, men and women who have given years of dedication, sacrifice and discipline to represent this country, should not be punished or dragged into international disputes that are far beyond their control.

There is also a glaring moral contradiction at the heart of this debate. We are told that playing against Israel is somehow unconscionable. However, Ireland happily competes against Qatar, whose human rights record includes the exploitation of migrant workers, the denial of basic freedoms and appalling records on women's rights, religious freedoms and political repression, all of which are synonymous with that country.

The selective outrage directed as Israel, and only Israel, undermines the credibility of those demanding a boycott. This House has spent a disproportionate amount of time on this one international conflict, while urgent domestic issues - the housing emergency, the crippling cost of living, the chaos in our health service and the rise in crime on our streets - receive far less attention. Irish citizens watching these debates must wonder why Gaza dominates the agenda here, when families in their own communities cannot find a home. We owe it to the people who elected us to get our priorities straight and right. This amendment rightly states that decisions on fixtures and tournament participation are matters for UEFA and the international sporting bodies, not unilateral grandstanding by the Irish Government. We should respect those determinations.

Withdrawing or boycotting carries real consequences - sporting, economic and reputational - for our teams and supporters and our ability to host major events in the future. Sport should be a source of national unity and pride, not a vehicle for political activism.

Deputy Barry Heneghan

Bhí mé ag éisteacht le gach duine ó m'oifig. Gabhaim míle buíochas leis an Teachta Byrne agus le Sinn Féin as an motion a chur isteach. Bhí go leor daoine ag caint faoin spórt agus saol na polaitíochta, saying that they do not mix. It has been said before but I want to say it again. We all know they have mixed before. In 1981, the then Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, who was born in Donnycarney in my constituency, summoned the Irish Rugby Football Union, IRFU, and said plainly that the tour to South Africa would cause serious damage. Maybe back then, taoisigh, Ministers and Governments could do more but I do not believe so. I think the Government can do more and we need to do more. I think Mr. Haughey understood the weight of the issue.

I was at the sport committee when the Minister of State said he was not going to the game. I welcome that and I understand his hands might be tied in a sense but we need to fast-forward from 1981 to November of last year when Bohemians brought forward a motion, backed by Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers and Cork City, which was then followed by Norway, Spain, Türkiye and then UEFA itself, to stop the killing of children and civilians, and to stop the genocide. Did the Geneva Convention fall out of the sky?

We have multiple independent UN reports that have said it is a genocide. We have to do everything we can. Hosting a match on a pitch with a country that is inflicting genocide is not neutral. It is a signal that the rules do not apply to that country, specifically when there is precedent for us doing it to other countries, particularly with how quickly sanctions were put on Russia.

I have had an Israeli gun pointed at my head, saying that I am an Irish terrorist. I have had meetings with Palestinians, now-paralympians, who were deliberately shot in the knee while trying to leave to enter the Jakarta Olympics. Alaa Aldali was in Sicily before I went on the flotilla. He was the first Palestinian ever to compete in the UCI World Championships. He said before the race, "I dreamt of becoming a champion with both legs. After my amputation, I became determined to be a champion for Palestine with one." Despite being an amputee, he was helping to set up the ships and he was keeping guard. He is one of the most passionate and determined young men I have met. He founded the Gaza Sunbirds who were on one of the eight ships that was in my flotilla, which was painted with the Gaza Sunbirds symbol. They have visited this House. Another Deputy met them too.

When the bombing started in October 2023, they stopped training and they started using bikes to deliver bread through the rubble. Their bikes were later destroyed in an airstrike, killing one of the volunteers. We cannot say that sports and politics do not apply when clearly the current Israeli regime is doing so. This is not against Israelis. We had Israelis on flotillas and we have Israelis in Israel protesting against the current regime. This is about the current regime that is in place. We need to do everything to oppose it and we need to stop the game.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

I thank Sinn Féin and Deputy Michael Collins. Each and every one of us knows what harm the Israelis have done all over the world and continue to do. We do not support that. I am concerned about stopping our Irish team from playing a game and I wonder whether it may have far-reaching repercussions for them. The players have trained and come this far. Will it be just this game they forfeit? How many points will they lose? Will they be thrown out of the competition? I am worried about all those things. I would like to know what the players themselves think. It should be up to them and the FAI to decide what is right for our team. I do not blame Sinn Féin for being angry. The Social Democrats have tabled another motion on the same matter. In no way in the world do I blame them. We all know what harm Israel is doing, the loss of lives, the loss of little children and the murder that is going on. We are helpless. We cannot do a bit about it. We do not have an army. We are a neutral country. I know it would be a good message to send to the Israeli Government but it will take no notice of that.

It is our Irish team I am concerned about. Do the players want to play? Does the FAI want to proceed? It should be up to them. I do not want to see the Israelis coming here to play a game. Maybe it should be played in some neutral country. I have to know more about what implications this will have for the team. We remember the glory days of Jackie Charlton and we still appreciate, while the players and teams have not been doing as well in recent times, they are our team. They are the Irish team and we must stand by them. Whatever they want is what I want. They cannot be blamed for playing Israel. UEFA or whoever drew up the schedule and ordained that Israel was to play Ireland. Maybe it is UEFA have a right to kick Israel out of the competition but it is wrong to blame our players, our countrymen, for playing in this competition. Will it finish them for the whole of this tournament? Those are the questions we need to ask. Will it throw them back an awful lot? We need to know that. I am concerned.

I do not blame Sinn Féin for tabling the motion. It is on everyone's minds and everyone is concerned about the reckless harm Israel has done. Netanyahu and the others are criminals. I have no problem saying that because they have done terrible, terrible things. We are deciding the fate of Irish team here. I do not think the Government would be doing the right thing to stop them from playing unless we get direct confirmation from the team or the management about what they want to do.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Noel Grealish)

It is obvious that this House, and indeed the people of Ireland, have significant concerns about Israeli actions in Palestine and the dire and worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. I reiterate that Israeli actions in Palestine consistently contravene international law and the Government continues to press for appropriate action at EU and international level in response to Israeli breaches of human rights and democratic principles. The prevention by Israel of essential and sufficient humanitarian aid going into the people of Gaza, the continued facilitation of violent settlers in the West Bank, and the appalling displacement of so many people in Lebanon, is completely unacceptable.

Ireland had taken a strong stance in respect of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, including recognising the State of Palestine, and the Government stands ready to play our part in working towards a sustainable peace between Israel and Palestine, through the realisation of the two-state solution. The Government believes that the most effective and impactful way to deal with Israel's actions is at European Union level. We have a consistently strong record as a country in highlighting these issues but also in taking action on a number of fronts. It is clear that the European Union needs to do more on this issue, and the Taoiseach has written to the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, asking that it would be put on the table at the next European Council meeting. We will coninue to raise this at EU level.

We will also continue to use our influence to persuade the international community to take appropriate action and stop this conflict. However, we should not reduce this issue to one or two football games or events. For good reasons, governments should not interfere with international sports federations or NGBs, particularly by directing who should play whom in international sporting events. FIFA, the world football governing body, and UEFA, the European football governing body, are responsible for the system within which these fixtures are scheduled to take place and maintain a strong line against interference by governments in international football competitions. We do not want to see an Irish team penalised due to interference by an Irish government. We are in government to run the country. The FAI should be left to run football.

In this regard, the FAI has strongly represented the views of its membership that Israel should be excluded from international football competitions, including bringing a motion to UEFA to this effect last year. While we all may agree with the motion, the reality is that it was not passed by UEFA, and the FAI must conduct itself in line with UEFA rules. While deciding whether to fulfil these fixtures is ultimately a matter for the FAI, it must be acknowledged that refusing to play the games against Israel risks isolating Irish football from the international football community.

The FAI's role is to ensure that Irish football remains viable domestically and in good standing globally, without inflicting long-term damage on the sport. Punishing athletes for the actions of governments undermines the principles of international sportsmanship. Players have trained their entire lives to compete for their country at the highest level. Denying Irish footballers the opportunity to compete in the Nations League compromises their careers and development. The Irish players, who have brought us such joy in the past year and who have dedicated so much to representing their country, should not be denied the opportunity to compete at major international tournaments as a consequence of decisions beyond their control.

With regard to security around the home leg of the fixture in Dublin, the FAI is engaging with An Garda Síochána, which is confident in its ability to deliver a safe and secure environment to facilitate the fixture should it take place in Dublin. Should the first fixture take place in Dublin, which again is ultimately a matter for the FAI and UEFA, I am fully confident that An Garda Síochána has the expertise and resources to police the game properly.

As has been pointed out during this debate, all NGBs, including the FAI, are independent, autonomous bodies responsible for the governance of their own sports, including the organisation of fixtures. The FAI is completely within its rights to fulfil its international fixtures, and the Government acknowledges its right to do so. The Government has no legal authority to interfere with sporting fixtures and our amendment to the motion reflects that position. The Government proposes to amend the wording of this motion, as submitted to the House.

I wish the ladies’ football team well tonight. It is playing a very important game. We are in here discussing soccer and I am very disappointed in all the Members across the House. Not one wished the Irish ladies football team well bar one – the Minister of State here-----

(Interruptions).

Deputy Mark Wall

Did either of the Ministers of State between them mention genocide?

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

Members, please.

Deputy Noel Grealish

-----but I wish the women well in their game tonight.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

Members, please.

Deputy Johnny Guirke

We are talking about genocide.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

Members please. Sinn Féin has ten minutes to conclude. Deputies Guirke and McDonald have two and a half minutes, two and a half minutes and then five.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

The world witnessed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza some of the worst excesses and some of the most extreme cruel actions a nation can inflict on another group of people. The devastating toll on human life resulting the deaths of tens of thousands of men, women and children as a consequence of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza far exceeded any of the norms of a civilised society. The vastly disproportionate number of civilians and children killed in the Israeli offensive clearly shows that Israel has had nothing but total and absolute disregard for balancing military necessity with its obligations to protect non combatants. Israel did not just target what it would consider legitimate military objectives. It systematically and deliberately attacked not just civilians, but civilian infrastructure as well as using starvation and thirst as a weapon against the Palestinian population. The barren landscape of rubble across Gaza demonstrates that for Israel Palestinian homes, schools and hospitals were legitimate military targets.

Israel has also killed hundreds of Palestinian athletes and footballers and 300 sports facilities across Gaza and the West Bank have been destroyed. A comprehensive report from a United Nations commission concluded that Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip. The horror stories coming out of Israeli prisons and detention centres are shocking beyond belief. Detainees are regularly beaten, electrocuted, sexually tortured and shockingly abused by military dogs. Detainees are denied adequate food, water and proper medical care. Settler violence has escalated and the illegal land grabs are continuing with the connivance of the Israeli military. If Palestinians intervene to protect their homes and farms, they are the ones attacked and killed by the settlers and the Israeli military. If Ireland competes against the Israeli national team, we are helping to legitimise the genocide and torture and the stealing of Palestinian lands. We would be saying that these human rights abuses and war crimes are acceptable and normal. Israel needs to be sent a clear message that we will never allow it to use sport to normalise its apartheid system, the genocide or systematic abuse and its torture of Palestinians. Israel needs to be suspended from UEFA and the FAI needs to cancel its game against this apartheid regime.

Deputy Pearse Doherty

Hear, hear.

Deputy Johnny Guirke

As of 6 May 2026, more than 72,600 Palestinian had been directly killed by the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Thousands of those were women and children. The United Nations and many humanitarian organisations believe the Gaza health ministry’s figures to be a significant under count with thousands of Gazans still unaccounted for. In 2025, Israel bombed at least six countries – Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria and Yemen. It also carried out strikes in Tunisian, Maltese and Greek territorial waters on aid flotillas heading for Gaza with no consequences for it.

The decision by UEFA to allow Israel, a non-European country, to participate in the European Nations League despite the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank is disgraceful. UEFA defends its stance by claiming that politics should play no part in sport but, hypocritically, has no problem in banning Russia from the competition. FIFA, UEFA and the Irish Government should not have put the football association in the position in which it finds itself. The issue of whether the game gets played should never have reached this point but now that it has, the FAI needs to take a stand and refuse to participate.

The Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy O’Donovan, have said they would not attend the game. The Minister of State said that because he knows it is wrong. Worst of all is the FAI talking about playing the game at a neutral venue, removing the people’s right to protest. The issue is not where the game is played. The Israeli presence is the issue. We should not carry on as normal while Gaza is being devastated. Thousands of men, women and children have been killed with no regard for international law or human rights. Refusing to play South Africa in rugby played a major part in isolating the apartheid regime there. A similar stance should be taken in relation to soccer and Israel. If football authorities can act in one conflict but not another, people are entitled to ask why. All we are asking for is not to play the game – other countries will follow – and to not shake their hands or listen to their anthem. Ireland refusing to play Israel would not end the suffering in Gaza but it would be a statement heard far and wide. Let us show Israel the red card and stop this game.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

We teach life, sir.

We Palestinians teach life after they have occupied the last sky.

We teach life after they have built their settlements and apartheid walls, after the last skies.

We teach life, sir.

How many Palestinian lives can Israel steal? How many Hind Rajabs? How many mothers, fathers, doctors, nurses or farmers? Is there a point? Is there a red line or a bottom line? How many farms can be destroyed, olive groves ploughed through, homes destroyed or football infrastructure destroyed? Is there a bottom line? Is there a point at which Zionism is stopped? Is there a point at which Israeli impunity is not merely named but confronted? There are moments where a refusal to act, where excuses and distractions are exposed as complicity. There are moments when looking away and a determination to keep looking away becomes an obvious political choice. There are moments when people, governments, institutions and, yes, when sport will choose to either stand on the side of justice or accommodate and enable injustice and oppression. The world witnesses. We witness the devastation of Gaza with hospitals bombed, schools destroyed and refugee camps attacked. We witness starvation used as a weapon against civilian populations and children killed, maimed and orphaned in numbers that should shock the conscience of the world.

This is not merely a conflict. This is a genocide. As desperate families queue for food and aid, they face bombardment, displacement and fear. Yet, despite all of this, only two Government members have come into the Chamber. The rest of their benches are bare. They are benches of shame. They come in here to tell us that when it comes to a football match against Israel, sport should be treated as separate from the reality that unfolds before our eyes. We reject that proposition.

Sport does not exist in a vacuum, and it never has. Sport is the most powerful force for inclusion, equality and justice. It can be used to challenge rather than enable. Those who have ignorantly argued that sport and politics should never mix conveniently disregard the key role sporting boycotts played in isolating apartheid South Africa and conquering apartheid South Africa at that time. I want to read the names of four brave rugby players - Tony Ward, Moss Keane, Donal Spring and Hugo MacNeill. They knew in 1981 that sport could not be used to enable and prolong discriminatory and racist practices in apartheid South Africa. They were right then, and they are right now. I applaud them for that fact.

Thousands of athletes, players and sports officials have been killed in Palestine and Gaza. Our motion sets out the disgusting and deeply troubling facts of the International Court of Justice's findings on Israel's occupation and settlement policies. The court issued provisional measures warning of the risk of genocidal acts and requiring Israel to comply with its obligations. Hundreds of sporting facilities have been destroyed. Entire generations of Palestinians have seen not only their homes and schools targeted but their pitches and clubs. Places that ought to be their places of joy are stolen from them.

We come in here this evening and have this Pontius Pilate routine from the Government. This is deeply shocking. It is not enough to try to hide behind the spin. Of course, the FAI, UEFA and FIFA make the sporting decisions. Of course they govern their sporting codes. We recognise that in our motion. We ask merely that the Government stand on the right side of this and back the growing campaign to stop this game and gives the FAI the protection and cover to do the right thing and protect those who don the green jersey, so they know when they make the moral choice that their Government is on their side. That is what this motion is about and that is why we must stop this game.

Deputies

Hear, hear.

Amendment put.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Micheál Carrigy)

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 10 June 2026.

Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 9 Jun 2026