Minister of State Marian Harkin has said she believes the forthcoming Ireland Israel football fixtures should not proceed, differing from the views of Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Photograph: Sam Boal/CollinsMinister of State Marian Harkin has said she believes the forthcoming football fixtures between Ireland and Israel should not go ahead, a position in contrast with Taoiseach Micheál Martin. However, speaking on RTÉ Radio 1’s Saturday with Cormac Ó hEadhra programme, Harkin, an Independent member of Government, acknowledged that she was “at odds on a personal view” with the Taoiseach. “That’s just my personal view and some people agree with that and others don’t.”On the same programme Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit said the matches “shouldn’t be played”. Boyd Barrett commended “Irish football” for its stance on not wanting to play Israel and said the FAI agreed to play only because of the “double standards of Uefa, which expelled Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, but not Israel after its campaign in Gaza.

Source: The Irish Times February 14, 2026 21:30 UTC