Irish Pubs Boycott Israel Match Broadcast as Public Anger Grows Over FAI's Decision to Play

On any given match day, Peadar Browns pub in Dublin's historic Liberties quarter would typically be overflowing with football supporters gathered around screens to watch the Republic of Ireland play. As kickoff approached on Sunday for Ireland's Nations League fixture against Israel, a similarly large crowd filled the establishment. Yet there was one striking difference on this occasion: not a single television was switched on.

The pub had made a conscious choice to keep its screens dark in protest against Israel's military campaign in Gaza. Owner Aidan Brown explained that the decision was made roughly a month earlier, with the venue committing to refrain from broadcasting any of the upcoming Nations League matches until Ireland's football authorities take a firm stance against Israel. He noted that the pub had also declined to show the earlier Kosovo fixture and has no plans whatsoever to screen the Israel games.

Brown has taken on the role of informal coordinator for a growing boycott movement, compiling a list of venues across Ireland and beyond that have pledged to avoid showing the match. By his most recent tally, approximately 140 pubs and bars had joined the effort. He anticipated that number would climb further before kickoff, particularly as dramatic developments within the Irish squad rippled across the country.

Ireland has long been recognized as a steadfast supporter of the Palestinian cause, and the nation has now found itself at the center of international attention over whether its national team should fulfill the two scheduled fixtures against Israel. Brown likened the intensity of public feeling in Dublin to one of the most memorable sporting controversies in modern Irish memory: the Saipan incident of 2002, when captain Roy Keane abruptly left the World Cup squad in Japan following a dispute with manager Mick McCarthy over training conditions.

This time, however, the debate consuming the island of Ireland concerns not athletic standards but moral ones. In Derry, in the north of Ireland, another pub owner refusing to broadcast the game described a comparable sense of grassroots mobilization. Liam Doherty, who runs the Delacroix bar, argued that change must originate from ordinary people and from a small nation willing to take a stand. He expressed his belief that Ireland has a responsibility to demonstrate that the situation is fundamentally unjust.

Rebecca O'Keeffe, who chairs Irish Sport for Palestine and has spearheaded the Stop the Game campaign, said the past week has demonstrated the remarkable reach of the movement. She characterized it as a mass mobilization that has touched parts of Ireland previously unengaged with the issue, adding that it dominates public conversation and that symbolic gestures and empty statements are no longer sufficient.

Public opinion in Ireland is not entirely uniform, but it clearly opposes the fixture proceeding. A survey of Irish football supporters found that 76 percent were against the match taking place. Among athletes, 63 percent of members of the Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland voted against playing the game. Despite this overwhelming sentiment among fans and players, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has chosen to ignore the groundswell of opposition.

The tension between public will and institutional decision-making has deep roots. In November, an extraordinary 93 percent of FAI members voted in favor of the association seeking Israel's suspension from UEFA competitions. Yet when the FAI voted in July on whether the Republic of Ireland should actually play Israel, it opted to proceed with the fixtures. The motion passed by 75 votes to 32, with three abstentions. The FAI justified its position by citing potential consequences of non-fulfillment for Irish football, including possible points deductions.

Daniel Lambert, chief commercial officer of Bohemian FC, who helped propose the original November motion, said the sequence of events explains much of the anger directed at the FAI. He argued that the organization mishandled the situation from the outset, noting that the November vote represented a clear instruction from the membership, yet the FAI never seriously considered not playing. Lambert further contended that the association failed to recognize the benefits of taking a stand, suggesting that refusing to play would have earned the support of the Irish people and enhanced the FAI's reputation rather than damaging it.

Susan Shalabi, vice president of the Palestinian Football Association, believes responsibility extends even higher. She told Al Jazeera that the deeper problem is that the FAI and other national associations should never have been put in this position in the first place. Had football's international governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA, consistently enforced their own regulations, she argued, this dilemma would not exist.

Instead, the decision has fallen to the Irish players themselves. Earlier in the week, more than 160 Irish sportspeople signed an open letter urging the squad to boycott the fixtures. Team coach Heimir Hallgrimsson acknowledged that some players were deeply uncomfortable with the situation, while midfielder Jason Knight stated publicly that the games should not be going ahead. Then, on Saturday, the internal division within the squad became public knowledge.

Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu informed his teammates that he did not wish to play. The players subsequently held a vote and decided to fulfill the fixture, with reports indicating that eight had voted against participating. Bazunu was ultimately the only player who refused to take part.