SIPTU members employed by the FAI have raised serious safety concerns regarding any proposed Nations League match between Ireland and Israel, calling on the organisation to show consistency in its approach by withdrawing from the fixtures.
SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, Greg Ennis, said: “A match between Ireland and Israel is not only a serious political and moral issue but also has safety implications for workers and players which the FAI must consider. Our members believe that such a concern, and the duty of care the FAI must show for its staff, must also rule out this fixture.
“This is simply a call for consistency by the sporting body, which has already called for the exclusion of Israeli teams from international competition because of that State’s genocidal onslaught against the Palestinian people. It is unacceptable that the organisation would now demand its employees and players engage with their Israeli counterparts in fixtures that the FAI, and we believe the vast majority of Irish people, believe should not be taking place.
“Our members do not want to be part of a rank hypocrisy in world football which sees Russian teams banned due to their country’s illegal war in Ukraine, while another state that is perpetrating a legally defined genocide should be allowed to sport-wash its reputation at our expense.
“It is up to the governing association to consider these issues and not place players and staff in a situation where their safety and future reputations are in jeopardy.”
He added: “Irish sport has not been placed in such a predicament since the days of the sporting boycott against South Africa. The reputations of players and sporting organisations who broke that boycott were severely tarnished. In 1970, a rugby game between Ireland and South Africa led to major disruption, violence, and disorder in Dublin. Let’s not make the same mistake.
“We believe the Irish people want the FAI to do the right thing here. It must stand by its own words and respect the safety of those it has a duty of care towards. This necessitates it reconsidering its position in relation to fulfilling these fixtures.”