The D\u00e1il will debate a Social Democrats\u2019 motion on Wednesday to put further pressure on the Government to prevent the Ireland-Israel fixture in the UEFA Nations League from going ahead.<\/p>\n
Deputy Sin\u00e9ad Gibney, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on sport, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, all we have got from this Government is political doublespeak, with some ministers saying they will not be attending the game while still publicly supporting the FAI\u2019s decision to proceed with the fixture.<\/p>\n
\u201cSportswashing is a known method for apartheid states to distract from breaches of human rights and other unethical conduct. We cannot normalise Israel\u2019s war crimes by allowing it to participate in sporting events on the world stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince October 7, 2023, nearly 75,000 people, including more than 20,000 children, have been slaughtered by Israeli armed forces in Gaza. In the same period, 1,500 Palestinians have been murdered in the West Bank, where violent settlers continue to act with impunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor one state to behave in this way is abhorrent, but for the rest of the world to sit and watch multiple breaches of international law without a meaningful response amounts to complicity.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur motion calls on the Government to advocate, at national and international level, for Israel to be excluded from all sporting competitions as long as the genocide and illegal occupation of Palestinian territory continues. In doing so, it must also support Irish sporting bodies in boycotting fixtures, events and competitions where Israel is participating.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a range of options available to the Government ahead of the Nations League fixture: they could commit to covering any financial loss incurred by the FAI; they could ratify the UN Convention Against Apartheid in Sport; they could garner support from other scheduled or potential sporting opponents of Israel in this competition and elsewhere; and they could seek to block entry to Israeli players, as Ireland did with the Yugoslav team in 1999 because of Serbian atrocities in Kosovo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am urging TDs from all parties and none to support our motion on Wednesday, which will provide the Government with an opportunity to demonstrate that Ireland will not tolerate sportswashing in the face of Israel\u2019s ongoing genocide and illegal land grabs.\u201d<\/p>\n
June 8, 2026<\/p>\n