Ireland’s Matches Against Israel Should Have Been Canceled
Irish goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu took a brave stand by refusing to play against Israel on Sunday night. It was the cowardice of football’s governing bodies and their refusal to exclude Israel from international competition that made his stand necessary.
Irish goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu on his decision not to participate in matches against the Israeli football team: “There are few times where you get a chance in life to stand up for something bigger and I strongly believe this is one of them.” (Carl Recine / Getty Images)
On Sunday night, the Irish soccer team bowed their heads in silence as the Israeli anthem echoed through the all but empty Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city. The Irish players, who wore black armbands, skipped the traditional pregame rituals. There were no handshakes, no pennants, and (for the most part) no fans.
After months of deliberations and growing demands for a boycott, these trite gestures of dissent were all the Irish team could muster. Having spurned an opportunity to set an international precedent, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) succumbed to fear, meekly agreeing to go through with the matches.
This was a decision that the Irish players had seemed destined to glumly accept until some final deliberations nearly scuttled the ship at the eleventh hour. In the end, goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu opted to take a one-man stand after a truly dramatic day for Irish soccer.
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