Irish fans disrupt national soccer team’s game to protest planned matches against Israel

Irish soccer fans disrupted their national team’s exhibition match with World Cup participant Qatar in Dublin late Thursday by throwing tennis balls on the pitch in protest of upcoming games against Israel.

An AFP journalist in the stadium said a volley of dozens of tennis balls emblazoned with Palestinian flags and the words ‘Stop the Game’ were thrown by Irish protesters 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 for 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.

Ireland fans in support of Palestine, throwing tennis balls onto the pitch. pic.twitter.com/c254gWP2rc

— Lansdowne Road ☘️????????⚽ (@LansdowneRD_IE) May 29, 2026

The stunt was professedly aimed at pressuring the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to cancel its two upcoming UEFA Nations League games against Israel in September and October.

“We are serious about stopping the autumn matches. This campaign is only getting started,” the statement read.

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 game in Dublin on October 4.

Several anti-Israel Irish politicians and soccer 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 European soccer’s governing body.

Meanwhile, there were fresh protests at the Dail — the Irish parliament — on Wednesday over the planned matches.

In October, Hallgrimsson was among those calling for Israel to be banned from international soccer competition.

Hallgrimsson said after Thursday’s game that he respects the right of Irish fans 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,” he said.