David Sneyd reports from Abbotstown

HEIMIR HALLGRÍMSSON HAS urged the public to support his Republic of Ireland players rather than protest against the Uefa Nations League games with Israel later this year.

The international boss says he does not want Ireland to be viewed “as the bad guys” in this situation and would prefer people rally around the squad instead of “doing something that’s damaging”. 

On Tuesday, a protest from Palestinian solidarity group ‘Stop The Games’ took place outside the Dáil, while leading political figures as well as the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland have called for Ireland to boycott the fixtures that are set for 27 September and 4 October.

The latter is due to take place in Dublin, a game which the FAI have confirmed will be fulfilled as there could be “serious consequences” if they fail to do so, and it would “harm the long-term sporting interests of Irish football”.

A 93% majority of the FAI’s General Assembly also voted last year to put forward a motion to Uefa to suspend Israel from official competition.

“I’ve already expressed my opinion on this matter, don’t need to repeat that one. But from a football perspective, it’s an obstacle I don’t like and it’s unfair for the players to be in this position and us to be in this position,” he said, referencing his comments from October 2025, when he said he didn’t “see a difference between Fifa and Uefa banning Russia and not Israel”, that it was “an absolute tragedy what is happening there [in Gaza]” but that “of course we would play, I wouldn’t have a problem with that”.

Neutral venue 

“But from the football perspective, I don’t like us to be the bad guys. We are not the bad guys here. We just want to perform, we want to play, and the players would like to perform for the country and do well.

“I think the best answer for us is just to win this game, to win this war [on the pitch] against them. That would be a perfect answer from my end. Other decisions are not made by us, but all the players would like to represent the country and do well for them, no matter who’s the opponent.”

The prospect of Ireland’s home game with Israel being moved to a neutral venue was also broached. 

“It will obviously be a disadvantage for football reasons not to play at home. We’ve done really well at home. Hopefully we’ll continue that tomorrow against Qatar. So it’s building to be a strong fortress for us at the Aviva, and to move it obviously will lower our chances,” Hallgrímsson said.  

“So, I hope people can rally around the players and us playing so instead of protesting or doing something that’s damaging.”

On Tuesday, Ireland captain Nathan Collins was also asked about being drawn with Israel and said he would support any teammate who felt they wanted to make a stand.

“For players, we just have to trust the FAI. We have to trust the government that they know what they’re doing. We’re picked to play football. You know, we’re picked to represent our country. It’s a tough situation for us to be in, and we have to trust the people around us, that they know what they are doing.

“What we’d speak about is hard to say, because you need the whole group together. But if individuals wanted to take a stand, we are not going to stand against them, we are not going to hold them back. They are entitled to their own opinions. If they are very strong about that, we can’t stop them.”