UEFA Rejects FAI Bid to Keep Ireland, Israel Apart — SkimNews
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- UEFA rejected the FAI's request to keep Ireland and Israel apart in future draws, telling CEO David Courell its "do not draw" list applies only to nations in direct conflict, not public sentiment.
- Republic of Ireland and Israel were grouped together in February's draw and are scheduled to meet in Nations League fixtures on 27 September and 4 October.
- FAI relocated its 4 October home game to Backa Topola, Serbia behind closed doors and said no tickets would be made available for Irish fans at Israel's "home" fixture in Debrecen, Hungary.
- FAI delegates at a July extraordinary general meeting backed a motion to fulfill the fixtures, warning a boycott would cause "significant and lasting harm" to the association.
- Stop The Game, a campaign by Irish Sport for Palestine calling for a boycott, has drawn support from former Ireland manager Brian Kerr and ex-player James McClean.
- FAI was the only one of UEFA's 55 member federations to formally call for Israel's removal from international football, according to Courell.
Why it matters: With UEFA's structural alternative off the table, the FAI must play fixtures against a team its own federation has publicly called to be banned — absorbing mounting pressure from the Stop The Game boycott campaign while remaining the lone voice among 55 federations to demand Israel's suspension from European football.
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