Republic

Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter lost their respective singles matches as Great Britain were beaten by a strong Czech Republic side in the Billie Jean King Cup quarter-finals.

Anne Keothavong’s team headed into the tie as underdogs, with all five Czech players placed higher in the singles rankings than any of the British squad.

Sonay Kartal produced a gritty performance as she returned to tennis after six months out with a lower back injury, but fell to a narrow 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-4 defeat in a marathon three-hour encounter with Marie Bouzkova.

Boulter could do little to get Britain back into the best-of-three tie as she was outplayed 6-2 7-6 (7-3) by Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova.

It was a second successive loss for Boulter at the hands of a Czech player, coming just three weeks after a 58-minute demolition by Karolina Muchova at the US Open.

It is the first time since 2023 that Britain have failed to reach the semi-finals at the Billie Jean King Cup and their wait for a maiden title will go on for another year.

The Czech Republic, who are 11-time winners of the tournament and the only team boasting two top-10 players at the Finals, will face either Kazakhstan or Spain in Friday’s semi-finals.

Hungary has been deemed a suitable host nation for Israel matches because the two nations enjoy stronger diplomatic ties than those between Israel and many other European nations, and it has been willing to provide the necessary policing and security arrangements for matches to operate smoothly.

The FAI decided in the summer to play its ‘home’ fixture against Israel at a neutral stadium, citing “operational challenges that could impact on the delivery of the game on home soil”.

Reports have claimed the FAI was concerned protests could prevent the match from taking place in Dublin.

The FAI gave no official reason for the selection of Backa Topola, but choosing a venue in Serbia – in a town so remote – in theory renders security management easier and reduces the possibility of protest.

In 2025, Serbian foreign minister Marko Duric described Israel as one of Serbia’s “closest friends and strategic partners”. Serbia has also purchased military equipment, including drones and missiles, from Israel in recent years.

The decision to play in neutral stadiums has not curtailed opposition.

Fans of various Irish clubs have demonstrated against the matches during domestic fixtures in recent weeks, and on Monday more than 160 Irish athletes signed an open letter by the Irish Sport for Palestine group urging a boycott. The signatories include boxer Tyrone McKenna and former European champion athlete Ciara Mageean.

FAI CEO David Courrell said last week Uefa had rejected a request for the teams to be kept apart in future draws, director of football John Martin described the games as a “very uncomfortable situation for everyone”. Manager Heimer Hallgrimsson, meanwhile, said playing the match did not constitute legitimisation of Israel’s “genocide”.

“We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide,” Hallgrimmson said. “We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel.”

In response, the Israel Football Association accused Hallgrimsson of “ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity”.

The Republic of Ireland faced Israel in Women’s EuroBasket qualifiers last autumn and earlier this year after “extensive deliberations”.

At an extraordinary general meeting in July, delegates backed an FAI motion to proceed with the games amid concerns that boycotting would cause “significant and lasting harm” for the association.

However, the decision has come under increasing pressure, with a ‘Stop The Game’ campaign launched by Irish Sport for Palestine calling for a boycott.

The campaign has received support from former manager Brian Kerr and ex-player James McClean, and May’s friendly against Qatar in Dublin was disrupted when tennis balls thrown onto the pitch.

The armed Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched a massive military offensive in Gaza. The United Nations believes the retaliation has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians.

Israel has regularly denied committing genocide or war crimes and has said its actions in Gaza have been justified as a means of self-defence.

Earlier this week, FAI director of football John Martin said the games had created a “very uncomfortable situation for everyone” and insisted players “shouldn’t be in a position where they get criticised”.

“We want to represent Ireland with the best games and performances that we can. That’s the agreement with all of us,” added Hallgrimsson.

“Obviously we don’t all share the same opinion. That’s just human nature.”

The Nations League games mark the Republic of Ireland’s first competitive action since their World Cup play-off semi-final defeat by the Czech Republic in March.

Since the penalty shootout loss in Prague, they have played four friendlies, beating Grenada and Qatar and drawing with North Macedonia and Canada.