Irish athletes sign open letter urging national soccer team to boycott Israel matches

September 22, 2026 / 10:47 AM EDT / CBS News

More than 160 Irish athletes have signed an open letter requesting the Republic of Ireland's men's soccer team to boycott their upcoming international match against Israel as a diplomatic furore between the two countries continues to grow.The Republic of Ireland is due to play Israel twice over the next few weeks in UEFA Nations League qualifying games — first in Hungary on Sept. 27 and then again in Serbia on Oct. 4. Both games are being played without fans in neutral countries after protests by both players and supporters in Ireland against the civilian death toll of Palestinians in Gaza.

The activist group Irish Sport for Palestine said Monday in a social media post that more than 160 Irish sportspeople had signed a letter to the Irish senior men's soccer team "urging them to act collectively with conscience & refuse to participate in their upcoming games against Israel."

This comes after the Israeli Football Association slammed Irish head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson for comments he made at a press conference last week.

Hallgrímsson was asked by reporters whether it would be difficult to keep his players focused on football during the…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/