‘It's not too late' – Trade unionist Mick Lynch calls on Ireland players to boycott Israel games at Siptu event in Dublin

British-Irish trade unionist Mick Lynch has urged the Ireland footballers to 'make the right choice' ahead of their upcoming double-header of Nations League fixtures against Israel. Mr Lynch was speaking at the 'Don't Play Ball with Genocide' event hosted by Siptu at Liberty Hall in Dublin on Friday night where he took part in a panel discussion, which also featured Dan Lambert, manager of Irish rap trio Kneecap who have been outspoken critics of Israel in its violence against Palestinians. Dozens of people packed out the auditorium to support calls for the Irish team to withdraw from the games including Labour MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and prominent activist Mikey Cullen. Read more 'We have been left exposed' – Ireland captain Dara O'Shea outlines squad mood ahead of key player meeting on Israel game The purpose of the event was to send a message to the Ireland team not to fulfill its two upcoming fixtures against the Israeli national football team. The two sides will play the first of a double-header on Sunday in Debrecen in Hungary before meeting again a week later behind closed doors in Bačka Topola in Serbia. Evoking the spirit of historical Irish trade unionist James Connolly within Siptu headquarters, Mr Lynch called on the Ireland players to refuse to play the fixtures. 'He'd be pretty disgusted about the stance of the government and the FAI,' he said. Mick Lynch takes part in a panel discussion in Liberty Hall with Dan Lamert and freelance journalist Alice Murphy where he called on Ireland players to boycott their two upcoming Nations League fixtures against Israel Speaking to the 'trivial matter of a football match', Mr Lynch added that the squad should be resolute in its opposition to a 'campaign of mass murder' by the Israeli state against the Palestinians, referencing a reported meeting among players within the Ireland camp on Friday over the issue. 'It's not too late. I'm sure those players are feeling immense pressure, and they are young people, let's face it,' he said. 'They are real sentient people, and they'll be listening to all this.' Soccer Football - Nations League - Group G - Kosovo v Republic of Ireland - Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri, Pristina, Kosovo - September 24, 2026 Republic of Ireland's Conor Coventry with teammates look dejected after the match REUTERS/Valdrin Xhemaj © REUTERS Mr Ó Ríordáin said his sympathies are with the Ireland players whom he claims have been used as 'pawns' in the controversy, criticising UEFA's role in allowing Israel to continue competing at an international level. '[The players] don't want to be in this situation, so I don't think putting pressure on the players is appropriate. The pressure must be put on UEFA to do the right thing, to expel Israel from international competition if they were being true to their own statute,' he said. Mikey Cullen was detained in international waters by Israeli forces in May while sailing in the Global Sumud Flotilla to deliver aid to Gaza. Speaking at the event, he said the players will have 'the whole world behind them' should they decide not to play the upcoming fixtures against Israel. 'A boycott is the best way for civil society to peacefully isolate Israel and end their apartheid, their oppression, their genocide and their ethnic cleansing and their occupation of the Palestinian people,' he said. Israel's supporters hold their team's flags prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I qualification football match between Italy and Israel, at the the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine northeastern Italy, on October 14, 2025. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP via Getty Images) © AFP via Getty Images Mr Cullen claims the squad have been 'failed' by both the FAI and Government, and urged them to follow the path of Irish artists who recently withdrew from Ed Sheeran's 'The Loop Tour' over rapper Macklemore's exclusion, risking their reputations and commercial ventures. 'That was probably a harder decision for the artists to make rather than the footballers who have a stable job and stable income.' However, journalist and activist Seán Óg Ó Murchú, expressed little sympathy for the players in this saga and believes his plea to them to not play will 'fall on deaf ears'. Read more Israel boss on Abu Farchi sending off – 'That's the law. The sending-off? These things happen' 'I don't have much time for what the players are saying, to be honest with you. Whenever you look at the way players behave when they want a manager sacked or they want a transfer request put in, you can see them throw their weight around,' he said. 'The message coming from the players is that they don't want to play and they're kind of being forced to be in this position - don't play. 'I don't pay any heed to the message coming out of the manager or the players.' 23 September 2026; Head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson during the Republic of Ireland Media Conference at Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina, Kosovo. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile © Ben McShane / SPORTSFILE Paddy Cole, sector organiser at Siptu, urged the FAI to 'get off its hands' to ensure a duty of care towards the Ireland squad whom he says are 'in a really difficult spot'. 'The ball is firmly in the FAI and the Government's court,' he said. He compared world-governing body FIFA's inaction on Israel to its prompt decision to ban Russia from all international competition after its illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 'I don't see the difference between what's happening to the besieged Palestinian people and what's happening with the people of Ukraine, so I'd be looking at an international ban for the Israeli football team,' he said. Jarlath Dolan (30) from Shankhill, south Dublin, attended the event on Friday and labelled the FAI and Government as 'cowards' for how they dealt with the situation. 'This is a huge moment in history. It might not mean a lot, but these types of moments can cause an effect, cause a momentum,' he said. Calling on the players to 'walk off the pitch, he added: 'If the world sees that Ireland refused to play Israel, they could get kicked out of UEFA and it could start a chain of events.'