Inside the struggle to 'stop the game' between Ireland and Israel Submitted by Larry Ryan on Fri, 07/24/2026 - 12:01 Ireland's football matches against Israel are due to take place later this year but activists are campaigning to stop them Republic of Ireland fans display a banner saying 'Show Israel the red card' during the recent World Cup qualifier against Hungary at the Aviva Stadium (Ryan Byrne/Social media) Off For months, a campaign to stop Ireland’s football team playing Israel in September and October has raged. In early July, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) appeared to put the matter to bed by passing a motion paving the way for the Nations League games to be played on neutral territory. But this, activists tell Middle East Eye, is not enough.
“I think it's only going to gain strength,” says Rebecca O'Keefe, from the Irish Sport For Palestine (ISFP) group. “We really, really remain resolute in stopping these games.” “The facts haven't changed,” says O'Keefe, a former Irish international basketball player who has been involved with ISFP since early 2024. “There will be a fresh wave of campaigning, because we're still witnessing genocide, we're still witnessing the total impunity of a genocidal regime.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Through months of wrangling and protest, the FAI has insisted it will fulfill its obligations in the Uefa competition.
But discord continues in the grassroots of Irish football, with campaigners adamant that the movement to “stop the game” is far from over. “Let's just say anything and everything, up to and including surrounding the airport to prevent the team travelling … , is on the table,” the League of Ireland Fans for Palestine group declared on social media. After the FAI’s vote on the game, a number of people from that group challenged the association’s president, Paul Cooke.
The following day, activists staged a protest on the roof of FAI headquarters in Dublin, vowing further unrest. Ireland has another Nations League game, against Austria, in Dublin in between the Israel fixtures, which is now expected to become a staging ground for further protest. “There was never any issue with the location,” says Ken Powell of the LOI fans group.
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