‘Bad situation’ - Ireland legend issues plea ahead of FAI EGM on Israel games
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side are due to play two Nations League games against Israel in the autumn.
Richard Dunne has urged the powers that be to do Heimir Hallgrímsson’s players a favour at tonight’s EGM.
The former Ireland star has described the controversy around the Nations League games against Israel as “really difficult” for the current squad.
General Assembly members will be asked this evening to vote on a motion regarding the two games, which are scheduled for September 27 in Debrecen, Hungary, and October 4 in Bačka Topola, Serbia.
The wording of the motion, and the details contained within the information pack sent out by the FAI to its members, has come in for criticism, with some describing it as “scaremongering.”
The 145-strong General Assembly is being asked to vote on the following text:
“While acknowledging the strength of feeling regarding support for Palestine and the upcoming UEFA Men’s Nations League fixtures, that the members recognise the profound impact that any non-fulfilment of UEFA fixtures would have on Irish football as a whole and on its future development, and accordingly endorses the Association fulfilling its obligations in respect of those fixtures.”
The FAI have been consistent ever since the draw was made in February that they would fulfil the games, despite the passing of a motion last November urging Uefa to suspend Israel from all international competitions.
Initial plans to stage the home game in Dublin were shelved, however, after protests disrupted the friendly against Qatar in late-May.
World Cup star and Shamrock Rovers defender Pico Lopes, chairperson of PFA Ireland, the players’ union, addressed the issue on his homecoming.
“It’s an incredibly hard position for players to be in,” he said.
“They shouldn’t have to answer this question, they shouldn’t have to be in this situation. It should have been taken away from them.”
And Dunne, speaking to MirrorSport via NetBet live casino, echoed Lopes’ sentiments when he said: “I think it’s a really difficult situation for the players, because they will be asked the question, I’m sure.
“Players are almost just commodities, they have to go and do their job, they have to go and play football, and they’ll turn up and play against whoever is in front of them.
“So I think any sort of decision about whether the game goes ahead or not needs to be left to the people who are involved higher up who understand all the politics and the repercussions of not playing the game.
“I think from a player point of view, they just don’t want to get involved. They just want to go and play whoever it is that they have to play.
“I think any decision that has to be made should be taken away from the players and not put any pressure on them.”
As part of the information pack sent out to General Assembly members, the FAI pointed to various sanctions that might be handed down should a boycott of the games take place.
The headline figure was a likely cost of €10.3million to Association coffers.
This is made up of €5.5m in loss of Uefa participation income, ticketing, revenue and compensation, plus a “likely” additional €4.8m in “reduced Uefa participation income as a result of relegation (to League C), reduced ticketing and sponsorship.”
However, a leading economist told The 42 that the figures were “clearly overestimated, without a doubt, and significantly so, even in the worst-case scenario.”
Dunne added: “It’s a bad situation. I don’t like commenting on it because it’s headline news when anyone speaks about that game.
“I just see it from a players’ point of view and I just hope when it comes around that the players aren’t asked the question and the players aren’t expected to do something out of the ordinary, because they are footballers who just want to play, they don’t want to get into the other side of it.
“Hopefully every decision that is to come with that game is taken away from the players.”
