The FAI board of directors are planning to meet next week to discuss their plans around the Nations League fixtures against Israel in September and October.
The move follows a protest at the international friendly against Qatar on Thursday when “stop the game” branded tennis balls wrapped in Palestinian flags were throw on to the pitch on three occasions in the first-half of the Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 victory.
A board meeting is likely to happen early next week when the topic of Israel games will be discussed.
Ireland player Séamus Coleman stated on Wednesday that it should not fall on players and coaches to be answering questions on Israel.
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“It should have been dealt with above us,” said Coleman. “It is very uncomfortable.”
When contacted by The Irish Times, the FAI did not confirm if the board, chaired by independent director Tony Keohane, will consider moving the home game at the Aviva Stadium on October 4th to a neutral venue, as reported by The Sun newspaper on Friday.
Separately, members of the FAI General Assembly that are in favour of boycotting both matches against Israel have secured enough signatories, 10 per cent of the GA’s 145 membership, to call an Emergency General Meeting with a view to passing a motion to stop the games.
If the EGM motion is successful and it is accepted by the FAI executive, Ireland will inform Uefa, the governing body overseeing the Nations League, that it will not play the games on “both legal and moral grounds.” The call for an EGM came from the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland (PFAI), Irish Football Supporters Partnership (IFSP), CK United, Cork City and Bohemians.
