UEFA, the governing body of soccer in Europe, rejected a request by the Football Association of Ireland to keep Ireland and Israel from being paired in future competitions, FAI chief executive David Courell said Friday, while noting that the countries had never been in “direct conflict.”
Courell said the request was made after Ireland was drawn against Israel in the UEFA Nations League, a competition involving European national teams. UEFA later said decisions to keep national teams apart are made on a case-by-case basis, with particular attention to situations posing structural security risks. Some national teams are kept apart for political or security reasons.
Israel will play Ireland at a neutral site on Sept. 27 at Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary, while Ireland’s designated home match on Oct. 4 will be played behind closed doors at TSC Arena in Bačka Topola, Serbia. The FAI said in June that the match, originally scheduled for Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, was moved from Ireland because of “operational challenges” surrounding the game.
Courell said the FAI would not host representatives of the Israel Football Association at the traditional pre-match dinner ahead of Ireland’s home game and had asked that a similar event not be held before the match in Hungary. Sponsor branding is also expected to be reduced, while the FAI is seeking UEFA approval to display “Respect” messaging on stadium LED boards.
The FAI has said it will play the matches despite pressure in Ireland for a boycott over Israeli military operations against Hamas in Gaza. In July, members voted 75-32, with three abstentions, to back the association’s decision to fulfill its UEFA obligations. The FAI estimates that refusing to play would cost it €5.5 million ($6.3 million) in direct revenue and could also lead to forfeited matches and relegation in the Nations League.
Forfeiting the matches could also harm Ireland’s chances of qualifying for UEFA Euro 2028, which it will co-host along with England, Scotland and Wales.
“Please do not interpret this as me trivializing the atrocities that are happening in Gaza,” Courell said at Friday’s briefing. “I am acutely conscious of that and am hugely empathetic with it. But equally, I can’t just take my FAI CEO hat off and leave it to the side. I have to do my job.”
