Journalist Calls Israel Boycott a 'Turning Point' for Football

Amid uncertainty surrounding the upcoming Nations League match between Israel and Ireland, prominent anti-Israel activist and sports journalist Leyla Hamed has suggested that a potential boycott by the Irish team could be a significant turning point in modern football history. Hamed, a Moroccan-Spanish independent journalist known for amplifying anti-Israel messages, tweeted on Saturday that the match "may not go ahead, with Irish players reportedly considering a boycott." She drew a parallel to the sporting boycott of apartheid South Africa, stating, "This could mark a turning point in the history of modern football." Hamed has previously spread false claims, including that footballer Menashe Zalka fell in Gaza, and has repeatedly called for FIFA to suspend the Israeli national team.

British Member of Parliament Zarah Sultana responded to news that Irish goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu decided to boycott the match, with other players potentially following suit, tweeting, "They will be on the right side of history." Mick Lynch, former General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers in Britain, urged the Irish squad to be "resolute in the face of a campaign of mass murder" by Israel against Palestinians, acknowledging the immense pressure on the young players.

Mikey Cullen, who was part of the May Gaza flotilla and was arrested in Israel, stated that the Irish players would have "support from all over the world" if they refused to play. He asserted that a boycott is the most effective way for civil society to peacefully isolate Israel and end what he described as its "apartheid, its oppression, its genocide, its ethnic cleansing, and its occupation of the Palestinian people."