No team should be forced to play Israel

The UEFA Nations League starts in September, and Ireland have been drawn against a team that should not be participating in international sport.

UEFA’s failure to do their job and enforce their own rules means that the FAI have been placed in an impossible position. Boycotting the game may have repercussions for Euro 2028.

I see there is talk about the game being played behind closed doors in Hungary — better than Israeli hooligans running amok in Dublin — but the whole thing is so unfair. Ireland, like Norway and Italy last year, and like Aston Villa in the Europa League, have been put in an unenviable position.

When will the authorities do the right thing? Stop letting this state get off scot-free.

Not playing the game would have ramifications: loss of points and revenue, maybe relegation, but it would send a strong signal to the world, and other countries would hopefully follow.

World Cup Draw

As you know, today is the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It’s the first time in 24 years that Ireland will be in the draw and the first time in 40 years that Northern Ireland will be in it — but neither have qualified yet.

Too Many Teams

Forty-eight teams and 72 group-stage games just to eliminate 16. It’s going to be a dog’s dinner of a World Cup. With sky-high ticket prices and two sets of fans already banned, it’s shaping up to be a recipe for disaster. What neutral wants to pay upwards of $200 for a ticket to Iran v Haiti on a Wednesday afternoon?

Excess Travel

The distances teams will have to travel between games will make the tournament complex to run and will tire the players involved. The fact that six teams won’t know until March whether they’ve qualified complicates the issue further.

Trump

There is no doubt that Trump wants to make this World Cup his own. That FIFA have been pandering to him is disgraceful; awarding him a peace prize to stroke his ego is absurd. A man accused of supporting atrocities abroad and threatening to invade a sovereign nation in the Caribbean being given a peace prize is beyond ridiculous. Trump’s authoritarian behaviour at home, his aggressive foreign policy, and his desire to make this “his” World Cup will draw parallels with the Summer Olympic Games of 1936. Then too, a racist authoritarian ruler with expansionist ambitions turned a sporting event into a platform for himself.

This is a tournament that, a few months ago, I had little interest in. But Ireland’s performances and results in the last two games have given me hope and optimism for what might be. I don’t think this is going to be a good World Cup, but I’ll watch the draw and look forward to the games to come.

An Ode to the International Break

Last Thursday when I sat down to watch Ireland v Portugal, I did so neither in hope or expectation of Irish victory. 4 points from 4 games including a defeat to Armenia meant that Ireland’s World Cup hopes were hanging by a thread. The thought was, would Ireland still have a mathematical chance of qualifying by the end of the game.

Two Troy Parrot goals and a Ronaldo red card brought joy and optimism going forward. Still, Hungary on Sunday, away and a win is needed, a tough ask to say the least.

Midway through the second half on Sunday with Hungary 2-1 up and seemingly control I decided to take the dog for a walk. We were not going to score two, the World Cup dream is over. Then as I was about to go out, Troy Parrot scored, 2-2, I decided to stay and watch the end.

As the clock ticked down, 5 minutes of injury time had elapsed, it seemed all was lost and then, one last dramatic twist.

What happened was a magical moment that will live long in the memory. One moment of magic, one moment that turned everything on its head, from disappointment to elation.

A big win of your favourite football club or national team can change your week. I had given up on the 2026 World Cup long ago, now I was looking at when the play-off fixtures will be, when will the Final draw be made, which cites are hosting games, where might Ireland be.

Sport has the power to do that, change your mood, change your outlook. This international break has come to a close but March is already too far aaway for the next one. I enjoy club football but international football is different, international football is special. It draws emotions that club football can not..

Beautiful night in Bilbao

Sometimes there are football matches when the actual game was secondary and that was the case last night in Bilbao.

It was a friendly against Euskadi and Palestine, not an official friendly because Euskadi is not a FIFA member.

https://footballpalestine.substack.com/p/rapid-reaction-euskadi-30-palestine?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1657790&post_id=178997237&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=6qqq8g&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Euskadi (the Basque Country, a region of Spain and France, have a lot of decent players, almost all of them playing in the 1st Division in Spain, onewho is playing in Portugal and one who is playing in Greece. The team would be competitive in International competition and would give World Cup qualifyinh a good rattle. The Palestinian team did not manage to qualify for the FIFA World Cup but given the hardships they face, they deserve gteat credit.

The night was all about solidarity and showing the Palestinian people that they are not alone. There was a not too dis-similar night in Dalymount Park last yearwhen Palestine’s women’s team faced Bohemians, but this was on a much larger scale, one of Europe’s best stadiums, 51,000 people in the stands.

A beautiful night all round.

The Palestine National Team will travel to Barcelona to face Catalunya on Tuesday.

Free Palestine