The Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, has commented on the protest that took place on Thursday night during the Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 win over Qatar. Twice in the first half, the game had to be stopped as protestors threw tennis balls with the Palestinian flag on them onto the pitch. Multiple fans were escorted from the Stadium as a result. The protest was part of the great ‘Stop The Game’ campaign, which is calling on Ireland to boycott their upcoming UEFA Nations League games against Israel
later this year, in September and October. The FAI has said that the game is to be played, with CEO David Courell saying they have ‘no choice’ but to play the matches. Many have called on the government to intervene, but as of yet, the only action taken has been by Minister for Sport Patrick O’Donovan and Charlie McConalogue, who is Minister of State for Sport has have both been saying they won’t attend the match. The first half of Ireland’s friendly against Qatar in
the Aviva Stadium was interrupted twice as fans threw tennis balls onto the pitch Palestine flags waved in the stands, and sections of fans chanted “stop the game” pic.twitter.com/E5ZfFoy2BJ — Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) May 28, 2026 When asked on Friday about any potential boycott after the week of protests leading up to the Qatar game, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said: ‘ We don’t want to damage ourselves unnecessarily. ‘The Government doesn’t run FIFA. The full implications of, say, if the Irish team unilaterally decided to put out,
the full implications of that in terms of Irish football need to be worked out.’ He added: ‘There’s a presumption that if they did, some of that would impact on FIFA, it may have no impact at all on FIFA, or indeed on Israel, for that matter.’ He also added that Ireland’s football has been doing better lately, and that they wouldn’t ‘want to be self-defeating in terms of any actions’ if they boycott the Israel game. The Taoiseach was then asked about the possibility
of playing the home game in a neutral venue instead of the Aviva Stadium, and he said: ‘The same principle applies that you’re playing Israel. And it’s a very difficult one. Martin was also keen to make the point that playing one football match doesn’t negate the stance his government have made against Israel and their actions against the Palestinians in Gaza. ‘There is no argument about Ireland’s opposition to what Israel has been doing in Gaza, and everything shouldn’t be reduced to just one
match in terms of the articulation of that opposition or protesting about the Israeli government’s behaviour in Gaza itself. ‘It can’t all be boiled down to one football game. I do acknowledge that people want to protest and people are very angry that it’s happening.’ *This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
Micheal Martin, Taoiseach, Ireland, Qatar friendly, Stop The Game campaign, Israel boycott, UEFA Nations League, Aviva Stadium, Palestinian flags, Patrick O’Donovan, Charlie McConalogue, David Courell