The Republic of Ireland's football team is set to face Israel twice in the UEFA Nations League. The matches will take place on September 27 at a neutral venue and on October 4 in Dublin [1, 2, 3].

Protests have erupted over these fixtures. On May 28, during Ireland's friendly match against Qatar in Dublin, the game was halted twice when tennis balls bearing Palestinian flags were thrown onto the pitch, disrupting play around the 10th and 20th minutes [2, 4, 5, 3]. League of Ireland fans joined the protests during the game, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and calling for cancellation of the matches [5].

There were also demonstrations at the Irish parliament, the Dáil, on May 27 and May 28 opposing the Israel fixtures [1, 2, 3]. Pro-Palestinian politicians and football figures urged a boycott, citing Israel's actions in Gaza, where protesters cite over 70,000 casualties since October 2023 and at least 421 football players and coaches killed [1, 5, 3].

In November 2025, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) passed a motion with 93% support urging UEFA to suspend Israel from international competition. UEFA rejected the request [1, 2, 4, 3]. The FAI declared it will honor the scheduled matches despite public pressure [1, 2, 4, 3].

Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson described the situation as "an obstacle I don’t like," and said, "I think the best answer for us is just to win this game, to win this war against them [Israel]." He emphasized the players are not the bad guys in the political affair [1, 2, 4, 3]. Captain Nathan Collins recognized protesters' rights, stating, "If individuals wanted to take a stand, we wouldn’t oppose or stop them," while emphasizing the players' focus on representing Ireland well [2, 3]. Collins scored the winning goal in the 1-0 victory over Qatar on May 28 [3].

Israel has previously played World Cup qualifiers in Hungary and is expected to use a neutral venue for its home Nations League match against Ireland [1, 2, 3].

The first Nations League match between Ireland and Israel is scheduled for September 27, with the second set for October 4 in Dublin [1, 2, 3].