75.6% OF IRISH football fans oppose the upcoming Nations League games against Israel, according to the results of a survey.
The Irish Football Supporters Partnership (IFSP), the organisation that conducted the questionnaire, were also critical of the behaviour of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).
“As a collective, we are disappointed that the board and the executive of the FAI decided to issue a letter to General Assembly members this week while surveys of membership by key stakeholders, including supporters and players, were ongoing,” a statement read.
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“We strongly reject the letter’s statement that the decision to proceed with the fixtures took place following ‘engagement with key stakeholders’. The opinions of our members are critical in everything we do and will guide our ongoing actions on this matter.”
A total of 1,723 supporters responded to the survey across the week.
69.7% said they would not attend the Dublin game on 4 October, and 90% of those explained it was for moral reasons.
12.6% said they would travel to Tel Aviv if an away fixture on 27 September were to be played in Israel, though the venue for that game has yet to be confirmed.
Since October 2023, Israel’s ‘home’ matches have been held at a neutral venue, with Hungary hosting their World Cup qualifiers last year.
Earlier this week, the results of a separate survey revealed 63% of League of Ireland footballers believed the Israel games should not go ahead.
On Wednesday, the FAI confirmed that the Israel match would be played at the Aviva Stadium after Gardaí allayed security concerns.
FAI President Paul Cooke said that the decision was “not financially motivated” and suggested that boycotting the match “would lead to the forfeiture of six points” and potential Nations League relegation.
IFSP includes three constituent supporters’ groups (Confederation of Republic of Ireland
Supporters Clubs, Irish Supporters Network, and YBIG Independent Supporters Mandate), and the survey was distributed through their respective networks.
Fans of League of Ireland and international football can get involved with IFSP by emailing: ifspire@gmail.com
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Survey finds 75.6% of Irish fans don't think Israel games should go ahead
75.6% OF IRISH football fans oppose the upcoming Nations League games against Israel, according to the results of a survey.
The Irish Football Supporters Partnership (IFSP), the organisation that conducted the questionnaire, were also critical of the behaviour of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).
“As a collective, we are disappointed that the board and the executive of the FAI decided to issue a letter to General Assembly members this week while surveys of membership by key stakeholders, including supporters and players, were ongoing,” a statement read.
“We strongly reject the letter’s statement that the decision to proceed with the fixtures took place following ‘engagement with key stakeholders’. The opinions of our members are critical in everything we do and will guide our ongoing actions on this matter.”
A total of 1,723 supporters responded to the survey across the week.
69.7% said they would not attend the Dublin game on 4 October, and 90% of those explained it was for moral reasons.
12.6% said they would travel to Tel Aviv if an away fixture on 27 September were to be played in Israel, though the venue for that game has yet to be confirmed.
Since October 2023, Israel’s ‘home’ matches have been held at a neutral venue, with Hungary hosting their World Cup qualifiers last year.
Earlier this week, the results of a separate survey revealed 63% of League of Ireland footballers believed the Israel games should not go ahead.
On Wednesday, the FAI confirmed that the Israel match would be played at the Aviva Stadium after Gardaí allayed security concerns.
FAI President Paul Cooke said that the decision was “not financially motivated” and suggested that boycotting the match “would lead to the forfeiture of six points” and potential Nations League relegation.
IFSP includes three constituent supporters’ groups (Confederation of Republic of Ireland
Supporters Clubs, Irish Supporters Network, and YBIG Independent Supporters Mandate), and the survey was distributed through their respective networks.
Fans of League of Ireland and international football can get involved with IFSP by emailing: ifspire@gmail.com
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
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