Ireland captain Nathan Collins said today that no player will be stopped if they want to object to playing games against Israel in the Nations League.
The Football Association of Ireland has confirmed that there is a real possibility that players’ refusal to play could lead to disciplinary action, including expulsion from the competition.
“It’s hard to say what we would talk about because it takes the whole group. However, if individuals want to take a stand, we’re not going to stand up to them, we’re not going to stop them. They’re entitled to their opinion. If they’re adamant about it, we can’t stop them,” Collins said.
The English Brentford footballer added that the players must have confidence in the association.
“We have to believe that they know what they are doing. We chose to play football. We chose to represent our country. It is a difficult situation for us,” he added.
The Irish Sport for Palestine group has called for a boycott of the matches, claiming there are “serious breaches of UEFA and FIFA statutes regarding Israeli teams playing in the occupied Palestinian territories and the brutal system of apartheid and genocide that the Irish government accepts”.
Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations of genocide and war crimes, claiming that the war in Gaza is a means of self-defense, agencies report.
(Vijesti.ba)
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