FAI delegates vote in favour of fulfilling Nations League fixtures against Israel

Delegates of the Football Association of Ireland have voted to endorse the board’s decision to fulfil Ireland’s Uefa Nations League fixtures against Israel later this year.

A motion tabled by the board at an emergency general meeting (EGM) on Wednesday evening called for members to support their decision to play Israel at neutral venues later this year, and passed with a majority of 68 per cent. There were 75 votes in favour of the motion, 32 votes against, and three abstentions.

The FAI board convened the meeting after an earlier motion proposing a boycott of the Israel fixtures was ruled inadmissible under FAI rules. Rather than call for a boycott, the FAI board’s motion called for the membership to endorse the playing of all Nations League fixtures later this year. The motion did not explicitly mention Israel, though acknowledged “the strength of feeling regarding support for Palestine.”

In a statement following the vote, the FAI thanked its members for “endorsing its responsibility to fulfil its obligations”, saying the result “provides the FAI Board with the support to continue making decisions in the interest of Irish football.”

Both of Ireland’s Nations League fixtures against Israel will be held at neutral venues. Ireland will play the ‘away’ game in Debrecen, Hungary on September 27th, with the ‘home’ game to be held in Serbia on October 4th.

The meeting was held at the Aviva Stadium, though the vast majority of members attended remotely via an online link. Only 15 of 114 voting delegates attended in person.

During the meeting, the FAI board stressed that members should endorse the motion to safeguard the health of Irish football, arguing a boycott of the Israel fixtures would cost the FAI a minimum of €5.5 million in lost income. The board argued that a boycott would “cause significant and lasting harm” as it would leave Irish football “bearing the brunt of disciplinary procedures in isolation”.

Board member Packie Bonner pointed to Norway, saying they would not be in a World Cup quarter-final this week had they forfeited their qualifiers against Israel last year.

Another board member held up a replica World Cup football while asking voting members to concentrate on on-field matters.

A representative of Bohemian FC confirmed during the meeting that the club would boycott any European fixture in which they were paired with an Israeli club.

The meeting was preceded by a protest outside the Aviva Stadium by approximately 100 people calling for a boycott of the Israel fixtures.

“We live in a democratic society, people are entitled to protest,” said FAI president Paul Cooke after the meeting. “The football community, who we are responsible to, support the decision to play the game.”

Meanwhile, FAI chief executive David Courell confirmed the association decided to move the home fixture against Israel on October 4th to a neutral venue in Serbia following tennis-ball protests during May’s friendly against Qatar.

The FAI took the decision as they feared protests at the Aviva Stadium could force the abandonment of a game against Israel. They did not wish to host the game in Hungary as they wanted Israel to travel to the game, and so chose Bačka Topola, a small and remote town in northern Serbia, as the venue.

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