Protesters at Mayo FC match urge FAI not to field teams for Israel matches
Members of the Mayo Branch of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign staged a protest outside Saturday evening’s FAI National League game between Mayo FC and TU Dublin, calling on the Football Association of Ireland not to field teams against Israel.
The protest took place in the car park at the game, with campaigners seeking to draw attention to the continuing situation in Gaza and arguing that Irish sporting organisations should take a stand.
John McDonagh, a spokesperson for the Mayo Branch of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), explained what the protest was about.
“We are protesting the fact that Ireland will field a football team against Israel,” Mr McDonagh told The Mayo News.
Mr McDonagh argued that the scale of destruction and loss of life in Gaza meant sporting organisations could not treat the issue as separate from sport.
“What message are we sending to our young people when we go out and field a team against a nation that’s committing genocide?” he asked. “What are we saying to the future generations?”
Responding to the argument that politics and sport should remain separate, Mr McDonagh rejected the distinction.
“When did sport and politics ever not mix? Everything is political. Everything we do, everything we say is political,” he said.
The campaigners believe that a decision by Ireland not to play Israel could have an impact beyond any individual fixture by encouraging football authorities and other countries to consider their own positions.
“We can set an example to the world,” Mr McDonagh said. He argued that an Irish refusal to play would send a message to FIFA and its member associations that there were countries prepared to take a stand on the issue.
While the protest at Saturday’s match focused on football, the Mayo IPSC has been maintaining a wider programme of demonstrations and vigils across the county.
Mr McDonagh said weekly events were being held in a number of Mayo towns, including a regular vigil in Westport every Friday from 5.30pm to 6.30pm.
“There are 11 different towns in Mayo holding vigils,” he said, adding that the activities formed part of the work of the national Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Mr McDonagh was also critical of what he regarded as a failure of leadership from sporting and political organisations in responding to events in Gaza.
“There is a vacuum of leadership. There is a desert of leadership right across the Western world,” he said.
The Mayo campaigners said their immediate demand in relation to football was clear.
“We are calling for the FAI and the State to stop the game,” Mr McDonagh said.
The protesters claimed that 680,000 people had been killed in an area just over twice the size of Achill Island.