‘Shambolic, arrogant, and incompetent’ – TD calls on FAI CEO and board to resign

The board and CEO of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) should resign over its “shambolic, arrogant, and incompetent” dealing with the Irish team’s fixtures against Israel, according to People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger.

The Republic of Ireland were 3-0 winners over Israel at the Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen, Hungary, on on Sunday, in the first of two highly contentious games between the sides.

They are to play again this Sunday in the TSC Arena in Bačka Topola, Serbia. The game which was due to be a home fixture for the Republic of Ireland was moved to a neutral venue and behind closed doors by the FAI, over concerns of “operational challenges”.

Calling for that game to be boycotted, Ms Coppinger said those who made the decisions around the fixtures should resign.

“Do you agree that the FAI handling was shambolic, arrogant, and incompetent, and the CEO and the board should resign for their handling of it,” she asked Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil.

“The team was sent into a cauldron of racial abuse, monkey chants for one of the players, an IDF chant. A video circulated of Yosef Hadad, who was actually brought into the Oireachtas by Minister (Jennifer Carroll) McNeil, apparently stating that we (Israel) may lose the football, but the IDF always wins.

“Now, Taoiseach, I want to ask you about the government’s role because you got up and you made a speech at the UN where you said the situation in Gaza remains an affront to all that is decent, and let it not be said we did not act, and then two days later, you facilitated a sports wash in a game against Israel. You had an open goal and you kicked it into Row Z by not backing a cancellation of the match.”

Criticisms of Israel should take place in diplomatic discourse, not around the playing of a match, was the response of the Taoiseach, who claimed Ms Coppinger was using the debate as a way to score political points.

“The level of suffering inflicted on the civilian population in Gaza and even the West Bank is horrific, and it is an affront to human decency and in my view, the Irish government has been particularly strong in comparison to many other governments across the world in relation to this issue,” he said.

“I’ve noticed since the outset of the war, it’s moved from issue to issue to issue, and the debate in Ireland seems to always focus on the government isn’t doing enough, and we’re almost dividing among ourselves what Ireland’s stance and how strong it is.

“I’m seeking more effective ways than a football match, frankly, to try and change Israeli direction and strategy, because Israel’s actions in the West Bank now, through settlements, threatens the two-state solution in a very, very serious way.”

Despite the Republic of Ireland team deciding in an emergency meeting on Saturday to fulfil the fixture, one player, Gavin Bazunu refused to participate in the controversial Nations League fixture as a matter of “principle”.

Praising the Bolton goalkeeper, Ms Coppinger said that the team’s gestures on the pitch, wearing black armbands and refusing handshakes with the Israeli team, were not strong enough.

“We all agree the players shouldn’t have been in that position. So you know that’s unanimous. You and the FAI put them in that position,” she said.

“Fair enough, you know the black armbands and whatever, but pulling out of that game would prevent sportswashing. Image matters to Israel.

“If Russia is playing, you would be disagreeing. You should disagree with Israel playing, and you should come out and call for them not to play. And you should support the FAI and the team if they’re willing to actually pull out at some point.”

The Israeli Government does not care about the games against Ireland, according to Mr Martin, who repeated his assertion that any response to Israel must be political and not sporting.

“I understand fully. People are very angry. In Ireland, we’re very angry. We’re angry because we understand. We want fair play, justice, self-determination for Palestinians, and we hate to see children being killed,” he said.

“It’s a natural, and that’s deep in the Irish psyche. We get hunger, we get famine, and we do everything we possibly can to end it.

“But let’s be honest too. Benjamin Netanyahu couldn’t give a toss whether Ireland play a soccer match or not. So let’s be a bit real. Too many countries have been too slow in response to this, not at the football level, but at the political level, at the diplomatic level, and at the international level.”

The Republic will be in Dublin to play Austria on Thursday, before the controversial second tie against Israel in Serbia on Sunday.