Anti-Israel tennis ball protest disrupts football match between Ireland and Qatar

Irish football fans disrupted Ireland’s friendly match with World Cup participant Qatar late on Thursday in Dublin by throwing tennis balls onto the pitch in protest against the upcoming matches against Israel.

A AFP A journalist at the stadium said a volley of dozens of tennis balls with Palestinian flags and the words ‘Stop the Game’ were thrown by Irish supporters around the eleventh minute.

It happened shortly after Ireland scored the only goal in a 1-0 win.

Later in the first half, more volleys of balls landed on the field AFP said journalist.

Guards, players and Ireland’s Icelandic boss Heimir Hallgrimsson helped clear the balls during two separate stoppages, each lasting several minutes.

In a statement on Instagram, a group called ‘The League of Ireland fans for Palestine’ said it was behind the protest.

The stunt was intended to put pressure on the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to cancel the two upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Israel in September and October, the statement said.

«We are serious about stopping the fall games. This campaign has only just begun.»

In a message on Friday, the group urged the FAI to “listen to both their players and their fans”.

“The FAI management should refuse to play the autumn games against Israel,” the report said.

The FAI is under increasing pressure to boycott the two matches, including a home match in Dublin on October 4.

Several pro-Palestinian Irish politicians and football figures have urged the federation to withdraw from ties.

The FAI passed a motion in November calling on UEFA to immediately suspend Israel from international competition, but received no support from European football’s governing body.

Meanwhile, there were new protests in the Dail, Ireland’s parliament, on Wednesday over the matches.

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

Hallgrimsson said after Thursday’s match that he respects the right of Irish fans to protest, even though the delays in the first half were frustrating.

“Everyone has the right to protest, and if we only think about the football side, it is not fun for us to watch a match that has to be stopped again and again,” he told the post-match press conference.

“But yes, we respect the protest,” he said.

Published on May 29, 2026