Ireland manager: "We play against genocide"

Ireland's football manager, Heimir Hallgrimsson, has spoken about his team's upcoming match against Israel. The game is highly controversial in Ireland, where many fans have called for a sports boycott of Israel over the genocide in Gaza. "We do not play with genocide, we play against genocide," Hallgrimsson said. He added: "We play against Israel, we do not play with Israel." He then said: "I was hired to think about football." But his words quickly caused a reaction from Israel, which accused the coach of "stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy." The Nations League match between the two teams is very controversial in Ireland. Fans have protested repeatedly, so the games will be played on neutral ground and without spectators. The first match will be in Hungary on September 27, and the second in Serbia on October 4. The federation made this decision on June 12, citing "operational challenges" of hosting the match in Dublin. After the coach's comments, the group Irish Sport for Palestine published a letter on Monday calling for a boycott of the matches against Israel. More than 160 athletes signed it, including competitors in Olympic sports, rugby, boxing and Gaelic games. "This is an important moment and at this moment you have the opportunity to do the right thing," the letter says. It adds: "The Ireland we want to see represented remembers its roots in anti-colonial and anti-imperial resistance." Ireland is one of the EU countries most critical of the war in Gaza. The federation voted overwhelmingly to exclude Israel from European UEFA competitions over the genocide in Gaza. UEFA, which suspended Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has been unwilling to do the same with Israel. FIFA, the top global football body, only fined the Israeli federation 164,000 euros in March and required it to display an anti-discrimination banner at three matches.