Republic of Ireland to hold Friday squad meeting on approach to Israel fixtures after Kosovo game
Dara O'Shea said the Republic of Ireland squad will hold a meeting on Friday to discuss how they will approach Sunday’s contentious match against Israel after Thursday’s Euro qualifying game against Kosovo in Pristina.
The Ireland squad face Kosovo in Pristina on Thursday (19:45 BST) before travelling to Debrecen in Hungary for the first of two fixtures against Israel in this international window. There have been growing calls in Ireland for a boycott of the matches, with a protest held at the Republic of Ireland team hotel in Dublin on Monday and an open letter from the Irish Sport for Palestine Group, signed by over 160 Irish sportspeople, urging the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to withdraw.
O'Shea said it is important the squad "speak openly" and "respect each other's views" when they meet on Friday and that the conversation "deserves the time to talk about". "It's the main thing and it's something that can't be brushed over. Whatever decision that we go through as players is taken as one and everybody's view is respected as well," he added.
The Ipswich defender, who will captain Ireland in the absence of the injured Nathan Collins, acknowledged the players have been aware of the "noise" around this window but tried to limit its effect. "The good thing we have as players is when we step into the squad you're in the international bubble straight away," O'Shea said. "So we've known the noise around the game and there has been, but I think we've all tried to stay off social media as much as possible and stay together."
Asked about pre-match formalities and whether a boycott would be discussed, O'Shea said the squad would prioritise the Kosovo game before meeting on Friday. "We spoke already at the start of the week that we're going to come together on Friday and discuss this as a group. Tomorrow we've got a game to focus on, first of all. I don't think we'll be doing our job properly if we didn't put our full focus into that game. Once the game's over and Friday comes, we're all going to come together as one and discuss it openly," he said.
O'Shea reiterated that decisions on fixtures were taken by governing bodies and the Government rather than the players. "For us, the decision was made by the FAI, Uefa and the Government. For us as players, that's not our decision. We're Irish players and when called upon we come and represent our country and that's important to know too," he said.
The situation has also involved comments from Ireland's head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson and reactions from the Israel FA and Irish political leaders. Israel's football governing body accused Hallgrimsson of "ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity" over his remarks about facing Israel, after the coach said: "We're not playing with genocide, we're playing against genocide. We're playing against Israel, we're not playing with Israel." Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the Israel FA's comments were "unacceptable" and "should be withdrawn". Hallgrimsson, who has been in charge since 2024, later said: "Obviously, we are grateful for all the support that we have," and admitted "it was not clever" of him to generate headlines before the Kosovo match. "Creating and taking over maybe the headlines at the moment, what I said [in the] last press meeting we had is taking the attention away from maybe what's most important," he added. "We are playing an important game against Kosovo. So that was not the purpose and from a leadership point of view, it was not clever from me to take the attention like this. I need to be focused on the game, the players need to be focused on the game. But to answer the question, we're thankful for all the support we get. It's a tricky time for us."
The broader context includes the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, which the article says killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, and Israel's subsequent military offensive in Gaza during which more than 73,000 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the United Nations considers reliable. The piece notes that Israel has repeatedly denied having committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and says its operations have been conducted in self-defence and in accordance with international law.
Ireland will play Kosovo in Pristina on Thursday (19:45 BST), travel to Debrecen for the Israel game on Sunday, and also face Israel in the Republic of Ireland's designated 'home' fixture in the Serbian town of Backa Topola on 4 October; the squad meeting to address the Israel fixtures is scheduled for Friday.
