Irish football fans disrupted Ireland’s friendly with World Cup participants Qatar in Dublin late Thursday by throwing tennis balls on the pitch in protest against upcoming games against Israel.
An AFP journalist in the stadium said a volley of dozens of tennis balls branded with Palestinian flags and the words ‘Stop the Game’ were thrown by Irish supporters around the 11th minute.
It occurred soon after Ireland scored the only goal in a 1-0 win.
Further volleys of balls landed on the pitch later in the first half, the AFP journalist said.
Security guards, players and Ireland’s Icelandic boss Heimir Hallgrimsson helped clear the balls during two separate stoppages that lasted several minutes each.
In a statement posted on Instagram, a group called “The League of Ireland fans for Palestine” said it was behind the protest.
The stunt was aimed at pressuring the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to cancel its two upcoming UEFA Nations League games against Israel in September and October, the statement said.
“We are serious about stopping the autumn matches. This campaign is only getting started.”
In a post on Friday, the group urged the FAI to “listen to both their players and their fans”.
“FAI leadership must refuse to play the autumn games against Israel,” it said.
The FAI has faced growing pressure to boycott the two matches, which include a home fixture in Dublin on 4 October.
Several pro-Palestinian Irish politicians and football figures have urged the federation to withdraw from the ties.
The FAI passed a motion in November requesting that UEFA immediately suspend Israel from international competition, but received no support from UEFA.
Meanwhile, there were fresh protests at the Dail—the Irish parliament —on Wednesday over the fixtures.
In October, Hallgrimsson was among those calling for Israel to be banned from international football competition.
Hallgrimsson said after Thursday’s game that he respects Irish fans’ right to protest, even if the first-half delays were frustrating.
“Everybody has the right to protest, and just thinking about the football side, it’s not fun for us watching a game that needs to be stopped again and again,” he told the post-match press conference. “But yeah, we respect the protest.”
