Players won’t be stopped from taking stand – Collins on Israel fixturesImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Collins says the players “have to trust” the FAI when it comes to facing IsraelPublished58 minutes agoRepublic of Ireland captain Nathan Collins says no member of the squad will be held back if they wanted to “take a stand” against the team’s Nations League fixtures with Israel later this year.Earlier this year, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed it would fulfil the fixtures, saying there was a real prospect that refusal to play could lead to disciplinary measures, including potential disqualification from the competition.
On Tuesday, there was a protest outside the Dáil (Irish parliament) against the FAI’s decision to play the games on 27 September and 4 October.
“What we’d speak about is hard to say, because you need the whole group together. But if individuals wanted to take a stand, we are not going to stand against them, we are not going to hold them back,” mentioned Collins, speaking before the Republic of Ireland’s friendly with Qatar in Dublin on Thursday.
“They are entitled to their own opinions. If they are very strong about that, we can’t stop them.”
The Brentford defender added: “For players we just have to trust the FAI.
“We have to trust the government that they know what they’re doing. We’re picked to play football. You know, we’re picked to represent our country.
“It’s a tough situation for us to be in and we have to trust the people around us, that they know what they are doing.”
Pressure group Irish Sport For Palestine has also called for a boycott, citing what it describes as “clear and ongoing serious breaches of Uefa and Fifa statute regarding Israeli teams playing on occupied Palestinian lands” and “a brutal system of apartheid and genocide, both of which are accepted by the Irish government”.
Israel has regularly denied committing genocide or war crimes and has mentioned its actions in Gaza have been justified as a means of self-defence.
The conflict in Gaza followed the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
Israel responded to the attack by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 72,500 people have been killed, according to the territory’s health ministry.
