Ireland player wants Israel match canceled

Republic of Ireland midfielder Jason Knight has asked for the team’s World Cup qualifier against Israel to be canceled. He believes the match should not take place.

Ireland is set to play Israel in Debrecen, Hungary, on Sunday at 19:45 BST. The return match will happen on October 4 in Backa Topola, Serbia.

These matches have faced increasing opposition in Ireland due to the ongoing war in Gaza. The “Stop The Game” campaign is pushing for Ireland to withdraw from the fixtures.

According to BBC Sport on Friday, after Ireland lost 1-0 to Kosovo in Pristina on Thursday, Knight became the first Republic of Ireland player to openly oppose the match.

“Look, it’s difficult. The manager, and Dara, and Nathan [Collins] spoke well about it. I don’t think the game should be going ahead, but it is going ahead,” Knight said.

Ireland captain Dara O’Shea had confirmed earlier that the players would meet on Friday to discuss how to approach Sunday’s match. This game will take place without Irish fans present.

Knight mentioned that the players would have a serious discussion about the situation and think about the implications of their stance.

“We had chats about it with the players, and more senior players on what the next step will be,” he said.

“Now we’re here, we can have a really in-depth talk of what that means and what the consequences are. We’ll do that [on Friday] and go from there.”

The Bristol City midfielder said he had thought about the issue before joining the national team. He was aware of the public debate surrounding the matches in Ireland.

“I think it was a difficult one. It’s obviously big talk in Ireland. I have been focusing on my football in England in the Championship. But I knew this was coming so I had a think about it,” Knight said.

He added that he would keep focusing on his football while sharing his views when needed.

“I’ll try and focus on the football as much as I can. I’ll give my view and my thoughts when I see fit, but I’ll be trying to focus on the football as much as possible,” he said.

The debate over the matches comes amid ongoing conflict in Gaza. This follows Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 hostages being taken, according to Israeli officials.

Israel then launched a military campaign in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza reports over 73,000 deaths, and the United Nations says the figures from the ministry are generally reliable.

The Ireland-Israel match is set to take place in Hungary, while the second match in Serbia will occur behind closed doors.