OVER 160 IRISH athletes have signed an open letter to the Irish men’s national football team, imploring them to boycott the upcoming Uefa Nations League fixtures against Israel.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side are set to meet Israel on 27 September and 4 October, with the fixtures set for the neutral destinations of Hungary and Serbia respectively.
The Ireland boss has said that each member of his 26-man squad is willing to line out against Israel but acknowledged that some players are “really uncomfortable playing the games”.
Composed by Irish Sport for Palestine, as part of the Stop The Game Campaign, and released on Monday, the open letter contains signatures from leading Irish sportspeople, including Olympian Ciara Mageean, women’s national team defender Louise Quinn, and former rugby international Tony Ward, the latter of whom once boycotted an Irish rugby tour of apartheid South Africa.
The letter stresses, however, that the FAI, Uefa, and the Irish government have let down Ireland’s players by insisting that the fixtures go ahead.
It says that those organisations “should have refused to play based on clear legal, moral, and political grounds — their own precedents, ongoing statute breaches regarding Israeli teams playing on occupied Palestinian lands, a brutal system of apartheid, and now, acts of genocide”.
Addressing Ireland’s players, the letter adds: “We appeal to you, as athletes, to act collectively with conscience. We have all competed to the highest level of our respective sports, and some of us have even represented our country, so we understand what it takes to get here — the time, dedication, and sacrifice.
“We also know what it takes to uphold the values of sport and act with fairness, equality, and respect which is why we call upon you, as a team, to refuse to participate in the two games against Israel.
“Not playing the game would be the most sporting thing you could do.”
Over 160 high-level athletes have signed an open letter to the Irish senior men’s national football team urging them to act collectively with conscience & refuse to participate in their upcoming games against Israel.
As athletes, we’re taught that all players are equal and everyone is bound by the same rules on a level playing field. But these universal values are incompatible with the reality of sport where oppressive and discriminatory structures are reproduced. And nowhere is this more obvious than in Palestine, where fairness and equality are denied by the Israeli occupation and then enabled by sporting bodies.
We have been unequivocal in our call to cancel the two upcoming UEFA nations league games because we believe playing Israel legitimises a genocidal regime and gives cover for statute violations, apartheid, and war crimes. We refuse to let sport be used in this way.
We have maintained pressure on decision makers because no player should be put in this position. The FAI, Uefa, and the Irish Government have all failed you by not taking decisive action and taking this out of your hands. They should have refused to play based on clear legal, moral, and political grounds – their own precedents, ongoing statute breaches regarding Israeli teams playing on occupied Palestinian lands, a brutal system of apartheid, and now, acts of genocide.
Instead, they have doubled down on playing, ignored the wishes of members, acted cowardly and dishonestly by moving the games, and have disrespected the majority of players, fans and communities across Ireland.
So now we appeal to you, as athletes, to act collectively with conscience. We have all competed to the highest level of our respective sports, and some of us have even represented our country, so we understand what it takes to get here – the time, dedication, and sacrifice. We also know what it takes to uphold the values of sport and act with fairness, equality, and respect which is why we call upon you, as a team, to refuse to participate in the two games against Israel.
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This is a significant moment and with this moment you have an opportunity to do the right thing. Putting on the Irish jersey and representing your country means something. But the Ireland we want represented is the one that remembers its roots in anti-colonial and anti-imperial resistance, which Irish sport played a large part of.
This moment symbolises something deeper, it is bigger than sport. But in a way this IS sport. Not playing the game would be the most sporting thing you could do. Through your leadership and courage it would show the power of sport to unite, remind us of the shared values that connect us all, and have an impact far beyond the game.
We urge you to meet the moment and Stop The Game. Ireland is behind you on this.
Notable signatories include:
Irish rugby: Tony Ward (who boycotted Irish rugby tour of South Africa), Trevor Hogan, Jenny Murphy, Claire Molloy, Sharon Lynch, Paula Fitzpatrick, Lynne Cantwell, Deirbhile Nic a Bháird, and Grace Davitt
Irish athletics: Ciara Mageean (Olympian), Maisy O’Sullivan, and Iseult O’Donnell
Irish football: Louise Quinn, Savannah Kane, Luke Byrne
Irish para athletes: Mark Rohan, Jack Squibb, Jamie Wall, and Alan Dineen (who boycotted his fixture against Israel in May 2026)
Irish boxing: Tyrone McKenna, Eric Donovan, Séan McComb, Fergal McCrory
Irish basketball: Rebecca O’Keeffe and Jessica Scannell
Irish surfing: Easkey Britton
Irish cycling: Paul Norton
Camogie: Sinéad Wylde, Claire Coffey, and Jane Adams
Women’s Gaelic football: Valerie Mulcahy and Nodlaig Ní Bhrollaigh
Dual players: Rena Buckley and Kieran McKeever
Men’s Gaelic football: Padraig O’Hora, Joe Brolly, Colm O’Rourke, Gary Coleman, Davey Byrne, Killian O’Gara, Michael Darragh Macauley, David Hickey, Philly McMahon, and Colm McAlarney
Hurling: Timmy Hammersley and Ciarán Herron
Irish ultimate Frisbee: Stephen Jones (who boycotted his fixture against Israel in August 2026)
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Over 160 Irish athletes sign open letter calling on Irish football team to boycott Israel fixtures
OVER 160 IRISH athletes have signed an open letter to the Irish men’s national football team, imploring them to boycott the upcoming Uefa Nations League fixtures against Israel.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side are set to meet Israel on 27 September and 4 October, with the fixtures set for the neutral destinations of Hungary and Serbia respectively.
The Ireland boss has said that each member of his 26-man squad is willing to line out against Israel but acknowledged that some players are “really uncomfortable playing the games”.
Composed by Irish Sport for Palestine, as part of the Stop The Game Campaign, and released on Monday, the open letter contains signatures from leading Irish sportspeople, including Olympian Ciara Mageean, women’s national team defender Louise Quinn, and former rugby international Tony Ward, the latter of whom once boycotted an Irish rugby tour of apartheid South Africa.
The letter stresses, however, that the FAI, Uefa, and the Irish government have let down Ireland’s players by insisting that the fixtures go ahead.
It says that those organisations “should have refused to play based on clear legal, moral, and political grounds — their own precedents, ongoing statute breaches regarding Israeli teams playing on occupied Palestinian lands, a brutal system of apartheid, and now, acts of genocide”.
Addressing Ireland’s players, the letter adds: “We appeal to you, as athletes, to act collectively with conscience. We have all competed to the highest level of our respective sports, and some of us have even represented our country, so we understand what it takes to get here — the time, dedication, and sacrifice.
“We also know what it takes to uphold the values of sport and act with fairness, equality, and respect which is why we call upon you, as a team, to refuse to participate in the two games against Israel.
“Not playing the game would be the most sporting thing you could do.”
The letter reads in full:
To the Irish Senior Men’s National Team,
As athletes, we’re taught that all players are equal and everyone is bound by the same rules on a level playing field. But these universal values are incompatible with the reality of sport where oppressive and discriminatory structures are reproduced. And nowhere is this more obvious than in Palestine, where fairness and equality are denied by the Israeli occupation and then enabled by sporting bodies.
We have been unequivocal in our call to cancel the two upcoming UEFA nations league games because we believe playing Israel legitimises a genocidal regime and gives cover for statute violations, apartheid, and war crimes. We refuse to let sport be used in this way.
We have maintained pressure on decision makers because no player should be put in this position. The FAI, Uefa, and the Irish Government have all failed you by not taking decisive action and taking this out of your hands. They should have refused to play based on clear legal, moral, and political grounds – their own precedents, ongoing statute breaches regarding Israeli teams playing on occupied Palestinian lands, a brutal system of apartheid, and now, acts of genocide.
Instead, they have doubled down on playing, ignored the wishes of members, acted cowardly and dishonestly by moving the games, and have disrespected the majority of players, fans and communities across Ireland.
So now we appeal to you, as athletes, to act collectively with conscience. We have all competed to the highest level of our respective sports, and some of us have even represented our country, so we understand what it takes to get here – the time, dedication, and sacrifice. We also know what it takes to uphold the values of sport and act with fairness, equality, and respect which is why we call upon you, as a team, to refuse to participate in the two games against Israel.
This is a significant moment and with this moment you have an opportunity to do the right thing. Putting on the Irish jersey and representing your country means something. But the Ireland we want represented is the one that remembers its roots in anti-colonial and anti-imperial resistance, which Irish sport played a large part of.
This moment symbolises something deeper, it is bigger than sport. But in a way this IS sport. Not playing the game would be the most sporting thing you could do. Through your leadership and courage it would show the power of sport to unite, remind us of the shared values that connect us all, and have an impact far beyond the game.
We urge you to meet the moment and Stop The Game. Ireland is behind you on this.
Notable signatories include:
Irish rugby: Tony Ward (who boycotted Irish rugby tour of South Africa), Trevor Hogan, Jenny Murphy, Claire Molloy, Sharon Lynch, Paula Fitzpatrick, Lynne Cantwell, Deirbhile Nic a Bháird, and Grace Davitt
Irish athletics: Ciara Mageean (Olympian), Maisy O’Sullivan, and Iseult O’Donnell
Irish football: Louise Quinn, Savannah Kane, Luke Byrne
Irish para athletes: Mark Rohan, Jack Squibb, Jamie Wall, and Alan Dineen (who boycotted his fixture against Israel in May 2026)
Irish boxing: Tyrone McKenna, Eric Donovan, Séan McComb, Fergal McCrory
Irish basketball: Rebecca O’Keeffe and Jessica Scannell
Irish surfing: Easkey Britton
Irish cycling: Paul Norton
Camogie: Sinéad Wylde, Claire Coffey, and Jane Adams
Women’s Gaelic football: Valerie Mulcahy and Nodlaig Ní Bhrollaigh
Dual players: Rena Buckley and Kieran McKeever
Men’s Gaelic football: Padraig O’Hora, Joe Brolly, Colm O’Rourke, Gary Coleman, Davey Byrne, Killian O’Gara, Michael Darragh Macauley, David Hickey, Philly McMahon, and Colm McAlarney
Hurling: Timmy Hammersley and Ciarán Herron
Irish ultimate Frisbee: Stephen Jones (who boycotted his fixture against Israel in August 2026)
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