boycott

Israeli journalists asked coach Hallgrimsson about the Flydubai attack and alleged racist abuse by Ireland’s players.

Members of an Israeli media contingent heckled Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson’s news conference prior to the UEFA Nations League football match, causing it to end abruptly amid growing political tensions and protests against the fixture.

During the media event on Saturday, an Israeli journalist asked Hallgrimsson about his views on an incident onboard a Flydubai flight to Israel earlier this week.

According to the prosecutor general of the United Arab Emirates, the Flydubai co-pilot “attempted to carry out a terrorist act”, using an axe against the pilot to take over the aircraft’s controls.

The plane carrying 174 passengers was on its way from the Dubai in the UAE to Tel Aviv in Israel on Wednesday when the copilot wounded Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, who opened the cockpit door to seek help.

The aircraft briefly plunged about 17,000 feet (5,180 metres) before it was brought back under control.

The attacker was not officially identified, but media reports quoting unnamed sources said he was an Omani national, Hamam al-Hammami.

“What do you say about the people that you support? Their ideology is based on murder,” the journalist asked, purportedly hinting at Ireland’s stance on Palestine and attempting to link it to the aviation incident.

Before the Irish team’s coach could answer, the Football Association of Ireland’s communications manager Kieran Crowley stepped in and asked the journalist to refrain from asking questions not linked to the match.

The journalist persisted, carrying on with her question before Crowley stopped her again.

“We respected your questions at the last press conference, but we are doing football questions today,” he said, referring to Israeli journalists’ pointed questions about the calls to boycott the first leg of the European match.

Icelandic coach Hallgrimsson later termed the incident a “verbal attack”.

‘You’ve just broadcast a lie’

The first leg of the fixture was played on September 27 and the FAI faced strong calls for a boycott from the Irish public and former players. The match went ahead and Ireland beat Israel 3-0 amid a tense atmosphere on the pitch.

Following the match, Israeli supporters were accused of directing racist chants towards Ireland player Adam Idah and were filmed raising military slogans, but evaded disciplinary action from the competition’s organisers.

However, another Israeli journalist turned the incident on its head during Saturday’s news conference and accused the Irish team of calling Israel’s players “monkeys” during the match.

FAI’s Crowley was quick to shut out the accusation and ended the media event.

“That’s a lie. You’ve just broadcast a lie,” Crowley said before getting up to walk away.

According to Irish media reports, the FAI is continuing to investigate allegations that Irish players Adam Idah and James Abankwah were racially abused by Israeli fans.

An Israeli supporter also led chants about his country’s military from the stands as he attempted to brush aside the team’s drubbing on the football pitch.

The day before the first leg, goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu publicly withdrew, saying he felt “it would be wrong to participate in the upcoming fixtures against Israel”.

The second leg will be played at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola in Serbia on Sunday.

Ireland’s Hallgrimsson termed it “a game with a lot of emotions attached to it”.

He said the team was focused on winning the second leg as well.

“There’s been a lot of emotions from the people in Ireland about this and obviously that affects the players as well. We want to do good, but it’s always going to be a challenge when the environment is as noisy as it is.”

Caracas, October 1, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela joined the United States, Israel, and allies in shunning a high-level UN meeting commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration.

The event took place on Monday at the UN headquarters in New York to celebrate the landmark anti-colonial and anti-racist declaration and programme of action adopted at the Durban Conference in 2001.

“48 UN Member States refused to participate in the UN’s shameful High-Level Meeting commemorating the 25th anniversary of the notorious anti-Western, antisemitic Durban Conference,” US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz wrote on X. “We thank all Member States who joined the United States in rejecting Durban’s poisonous legacy.”

Waltz posted the flags of the 48 countries that reportedly boycotted Monday’s event. Venezuela joined Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Paraguay, countries with US-aligned right-wing governments, as the only Latin American countries not to take part. All African and Caribbean countries participated with the exception of South Sudan.

Israel likewise lobbied countries not to attend the event, with ambassador Danny Danon insisting that “the UN must bury Durban’s toxic legacy.”

In his opening remarks at Monday’s meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action a “global blueprint for racial justice and equality.”

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez told delegates present that “intolerance and supremacist ideologies” are on the rise in Global North countries.

“The wealthiest nations, which benefited from centuries of conquest, colonization, and the transatlantic slave trade, refuse to acknowledge their historical responsibilities,” he said. “Some even opposed this Assembly’s recognition of the slave trade as a crime against humanity, the gravest in history.”

The World Conference against Racism (WCAR), held in Durban, South Africa, from August 31 to September 8, 2001, aimed to establish global strategies against racism, xenophobia, and other forms of intolerance. The US, European countries, and Israel decried draft articles condemning colonialism and the slave trade, as well as declaring Zionism as a form of racism.

Though the language was watered down and non-committal on issues such as reparations, the US and Israeli delegations withdrew from the conference in protest against the final declaration’s references to Israel and proceeded to boycott subsequent gatherings held every five years.

The Venezuelan government did not comment on its decision to join Washington and Tel Aviv in opposing the latest anti-racist meeting. 

Former President Hugo Chávez strongly endorsed the original Durban conference and its final resolution. He was likewise a firm backer of Pan-African unity and the Palestinian cause, having severed ties with Israel in 2009 and fiercely denounced the US ally for genocide. His stance was maintained by his successor Nicolás Maduro, who endorsed South Africa’s activation of the Genocide Convention against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2024. Over their quarter century in power, both administrations also forged closer diplomatic and political-cultural ties with the African continent and approved landmark anti-racial discrimination legislation. 

Back at the 20th anniversary commemoration of the Durban Declaration in 2021, then-Venezuelan Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia stated that the text’s “principles and motivations remain more relevant than ever.” Plasencia was reappointed to the post by Acting President Delcy Rodríguez in July.

Rodríguez’s latest decision to diplomatically support Washington and Tel Aviv marks another significant milestone in Caracas’ foreign policy realignment since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of Maduro.

Venezuela re-launched ties with Israel, first accepting a diplomatic and military mission in the wake of the June 24 double earthquake and later announcing further “technical cooperation” and the reestablishment of consular services.

Orthodox Rabbi Isaac Cohen stated in a September interview that Venezuela and Israel are going through a “dating period” that will lead to a “marriage” in the form of a full diplomatic normalization and reopening of embassies.

Caracas further engaged with Tel Aviv by accepting a reported medicine donation from Israel that was financed by Momentum Solutions, a logistics company run by prominent Zionist entrepreneurs Walter and Stephen Arbib.

Venezuelan Health Minister Carlos Alvarado received the donated supplies on Tuesday at the Tiferet synagogue in Caracas alongside Cohen and other representatives from the Venezuelan Jewish community.

Alvarado, who posed for pictures alongside the Israeli flag, claimed that the medicines would address needs in the country’s hospitals. He offered no details on the shipment’s contents.

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Philadelphia, USA.

Ireland are due to play Israel in the Nations League in Hungary on Sunday, but boycott pressure mounts on and off-field.

The Ireland team’s news conference and training session the day before its first Nations League game against Israel have been delayed as pressure to boycott the matches grows.

Journalists in Debrecen, Hungary – where Israel’s “home” game is to be played Sunday – were left waiting Saturday after being told the news conference was being pushed back until after training. That was 15 minutes before it was supposed to begin.

Training was also significantly delayed, however, with Irish broadcaster RTE reporting the players were still in their hotel more than two hours after the training session was supposed to begin.

RTE reported that some players had decided they did not want to play the games.

“And if they stay to their stated ambition that they have to be all in it together, if one or more want to be out, maybe they will all be out,” reporter Tony O’Donoghue told RTE Radio 1.

The team has been coming under increasing pressure in Ireland, where affinity with Palestinians is strong, to boycott the two games – the first on Sunday and the second, Ireland’s “home” game, in Backa Topola, Serbia, on October 4.

Ireland midfielder Jason Knight said after Thursday’s 1-0 loss in Kosovo that the players were in a difficult situation and that he didn’t think the matches should be going ahead.

Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson previously said “we’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel” – drawing a furious reaction from the Israeli football federation, which accused the Icelandic coach of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy”.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) had resisted calls to boycott the matches, arguing the team could be hit by punishing sanctions by UEFA. Ireland is cohosting the 2028 European Championship with England, Wales and Scotland.

More than 160 Irish sportspeople signed an open letter urging the FAI to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the fixtures.

There were protesters outside the team hotel in Dublin last week calling on the players to boycott the games. The SIPTU trade union displayed a huge poster in central Dublin beside the River Liffey asking the players to “Go with your conscience!” and “Don’t play with genocide” beside an image of a blood-splattered ball.

Former Ireland coach Brian Kerr said the FAI had “lost the respect of the Irish people” for going ahead with the games.

“The Irish people and the soccer-going public don’t want the games to be played,” Kerr said. “I think they’ve made their opinions clear over the last year. The FAI back in November actually went to UEFA and requested that Israel be put out of the tournament on principle. And yet they went against that principle.”

When European football’s governing body announced the schedule for its upcoming Nations League competition in February, one fixture became an instant point of contention.

The Republic of Ireland and Israel were allocated the same group in League B of the UEFA Nations League 2026-27, provoking strong opposition from Irish fans, footballers and celebrities due to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. It also led to calls for a boycott of the fixture regardless of the consequences.

Seven months on, the Ireland vs Israel game is expected to be played as scheduled but amid vociferous criticism, louder calls for Irish football officials not to send a team to the game and bitter Israeli responses to the backlash.

What’s happening between Ireland and Israel?

They will play two matches in the space of eight days amid tense political relations  and in the face of increasing opposition from the Irish public.

The fixtures will be played on a home-and-away basis, with Ireland “hosting” its home leg in Debrecen, Hungary, on Sunday, September 27. Israel’s “home” match will be played in Serbia on October 4.

Why does Ireland have to play against Israel?

Ireland and Israel are members of UEFA, European football’s governing body. As UEFA members, and in order to progress to the top tier of European football competitions and improve their rankings in international football, both nations participate in UEFA-run tournaments.

The UEFA Nations League pits closely ranked nations against each other in groups, where all teams face each other twice in round-robin-style matches.

Ireland and Israel were drawn together in Group B3 along with Austria and Kosovo.

Who is leading the calls to boycott the Ireland vs Israel match?

Ever since the fixture was first confirmed on February 12, the Football Association of Ireland has been under pressure to boycott the matches due to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and Ireland’s status as a Palestine ally.

In May, leading Irish footballers joined celebrities in a campaign by Irish Sport for Palestine, urging Ireland to boycott the match against Israel. A United Nations inquiry confirmed in June 2025 that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza.

The campaign group says Israel has breached UEFA and FIFA statutes by allowing teams to play on occupied Palestinian land and should be stripped of its membership at both football bodies.

Last November, 93 percent of FAI members voted for its leadership to pressure UEFA to suspend Israel under those statutes, a mandate campaigners say the Irish governing body should “respect and represent”.

The letter, entitled “Stop the Game”, was signed by League of Ireland players, former men’s coach Brian Kerr and twice women’s player of the year Louise Quinn.

The letter includes a statement from Shamrock Rovers captain and Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland (PFA) chair, Roberto Lopes.

International rights organisations have also called on UEFA and FIFA to exclude Israel from its competitions.

“It’s unconscionable that Israel will participate despite clear evidence that Israel’s football association continues to support illegal settlements,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

“When rules are broken, when occupation, apartheid and genocide are ongoing, we cannot look the other way,” it added.

What have Ireland’s officials said about the match?

Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin gave a green light to the matches, citing the challenges of mixing sport and politics.

“We have been critics and have opposed very strongly Israeli government policy within Gaza in particular. We condemned the Hamas attack on Israel, which was absolutely horrific,” ‌‌the Taoiseach told The Irish Times.

“I think sport is an area that can be challenging when it crosses into the realm of politics.”

In February, FAI Chief Executive David Courell said the national team had no choice but ‌‌to ‌‌fulfil its obligations or risk harming the long-term sporting interests of Irish football, including potential disqualification from future competitions.

Last week, Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson responded to the boycott calls, saying his team were not “playing with genocide”.

“We’re playing against genocide,” Hallgrimsson said.

What is the public sentiment in Ireland?

The rights groups calling for a boycott of the match have cited several public polls, run by local newspapers, footballers’ bodies and individuals online, which indicate that a vast majority are in favour of opting out of the Nations League fixtures.

A poll by the PFA in February showed that 63 percent of those surveyed did not want Ireland to play the fixtures. A similar poll by the Irish Mirror newspaper indicated that 71 percent of the public would support the FAI if they refused to play the game.

Bohemian FC, an Irish football club with a strong pro-Palestine stance, have thrown their weight behind the calls for a boycott and have urged the FAI to call off their participation.

Bohemian’s Director of Football Pat Fenlon believes it is up to the FAI to “take a stand for what’s happening in Gaza”.

“What an opportunity it would be to be the first country to stand up and say this is totally wrong,” Fenlon told Irish Sport for Palestine.

“The game shouldn’t be played,” he said.

According to officials at the club, the Irish public is aware of the potential consequences but believe that boycotting is “the right thing to do”.

“It is not acceptable to put a price on standing up for what is right and in solidarity with the Palestinian people,” the club’s communications director Luke O’Rodrian told Al Jazeera.

He accused the FAI of showing “sheer cowardice”.

O’Rodrian said the boycott calls have been supported by trade unions representing workers, particularly those employed by the FAI, the PFA and the Irish Football Supporters Partnership, who represent Ireland’s football supporters.

In the country’s political sphere, Mary Lou McDonald, leader of Ireland’s main opposition party Sinn Fein, has also called for the FAI to “do the right thing by its players” by telling them not to take the field.

How did Israel respond?

The Israeli FA responded to Hallgrimsson’s statement on Monday by saying: “We are not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity; we’re playing against the coach who embodies them”.

Martin defended Hallgrimsson, describing Israel’s remarks as “unacceptable”, adding that “Israel can’t keep denying what the world knows”.

Why are the matches being played in Hungary and Serbia?

The first leg of the fixture will be held at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary, and the second, which is Ireland’s “home” game, will be played at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Serbia.

Israel has not played an international fixture at home since September 2023 as it has been barred by UEFA from hosting teams due to security concerns.

While the October 4 fixture was scheduled to be held in Dublin, the FAI moved it following the protests and boycott calls. That game will be played behind closed doors.

Irish state broadcaster RTE, which ‌‌has ‌‌contractual obligations to show the games, will provide stripped-back coverage.

There will be no studio presentation or punditry and commentary will be taken from the international feed. RTE has not taken advertising or sponsorship around either game.

What would happen if Ireland boycotted the match?

UEFA does not have a fixed fine for refusing to play a Nations League match, and forfeiting teams could face a mix of fines, point penalties and forfeitures.

Officials at Bohemian FC pointed towards a recent report in the Irish Examiner newspaper, which highlighted that the punishment given to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia when they refused to fulfil recent UEFA fixtures against Belarus was a 3-0 walkover and, in one case, a fine of 5,000 euros ($5,684).

O’Rodrian said there was “real anger” among grassroots towards the FAI.

“The FAI exaggerated the potential consequences to force their delegates to vote in favour of proceeding with fulfilling these fixtures,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bohemians’ Director of Football Fenlon believed such a stance would always come at a cost.

“[They are] talking about losing money, about losing points and punishment, but we’re talking about more than 20,000 children killed [in Gaza],” he said.

“There will be a cost. Stand on the right side. We shouldn’t be playing Israel in anything.”

LONDON — Ireland will boycott the Eurovision Song Contest for a second year over Israel’s participation, the country’s national broadcaster said Thursday.

RTÉ said it will not send an act to the 2027 competition in Bulgaria and will not broadcast the show because of the “appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”

Ireland was one of five countries — along with the Netherlands, Iceland, Slovenia and Spain — to skip Eurovision this year to protest Israel’s inclusion in the pan-continental music contest.

Eurovision Director Martin Green said organizers regretted RTÉ’s decision but “fully respect” it.

“All broadcasters decide on an annual basis to participate in the following year’s contest. We will remain in dialogue with RTÉ and hope to welcome them back to the contest in the future,” Green said.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced last month it will also boycott next year, calling Eurovision a “platform for division.”

“AVROTROS will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 because the event can no longer be considered neutral, with a participating country still involved in a large-scale military conflict,” it said.

Next year’s competition is due to take place in Bulgaria’s Black Sea resort of Burgas in May, after Bulgarian singer Dara won the 2026 event with her infectious party anthem “Bangaranga.”

The contest was founded in 1956, in part to help unite a shattered continent after World War II. It pits acts from dozens of countries against one another for the continent’s musical crown.

Israel has taken part in Eurovision since 1973, one of a few non-European countries to compete. But calls for Israel to be kicked out have swelled over the conduct of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza.

The 2024 Eurovision contest in Malmo, Sweden, the 2025 in Basel, Switzerland and this year’s contest in Vienna saw pro-Palestinian protests and heightened security.