2024-04-02 21:38:56
67 senators and members of the country’s parliament signed a letter sent to FIFA and UEFA calling for Israel to be excluded from European and international competitions.
Duncan Smith, an Irish politician and head of the country’s Labor Party, led a protest against Israel amid the war in Gaza. “Given the scale of what is happening to the people of Gaza and the lack of progress towards a ceasefire, many politicians are looking for other ways to pressure Israel to stop the genocide,” he said.
Smith explained: “I would not mix sport and politics, but in this case, given the scale of what is happening and the degree of suffering, we feel that this is an appropriate call. Organizations such as FIFA and UEFA should impose sanctions against the Israeli national football team.”
Their call coincides with a visit to Dublin by Jibril Rajoub, president of the Palestinian Football Association and chairman of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, who this week met with the Ireland-Palestine Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group along with Palestinian Ambassador Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid.
Chris Andrews, an Irish Sinn Fein politician, said: “What we are witnessing is barbaric. We parliamentarians have a responsibility to use every possible means to pressure Israel to stop the carnage and agree to an immediate and permanent ceasefire. The international community also has a responsibility, and this should include international sports organizations. After the invasion of the Russian Federation* into Ukraine, we saw a unanimous and correct approach of international sports organizations to the exclusion of Russia and Russian clubs from participation in international and European sports competitions. However, when it comes to the atrocities that Israel commits against the Palestinians every day, international sports organizations continue to turn a blind eye.
This hypocrisy is reprehensible and must be condemned.”
Earlier, Cursor wrote that the Irish national football team was disgraced by a strange gesture in the match with Israel.
* – until the complete victory of Ukraine, the editors of Kursor indicate all proper names of the Russian Federation and its representatives exclusively with a small letter. Death to the occupiers!
2024-04-02 21:38:56