Republic of Ireland-Israel tie has sparked a debate with one Irish club dealing with fallout
Republic of Ireland’s Nations League draw against Israel has caused no shortage of debate within Ireland, in both the political and sporting spheres.Nowhere has this been more prevalent than at Irish club Drogheda United, whose chairperson Joanna Byrne — who is also a Teachta Dala (TD, a member of the Irish parliament) for the political party Sinn Fein, for whom she is the spokesperson on sport and culture — has said the club’s board of directors asked her to resign over her demands for Republic of Ireland not to fulfil its Nations League games against Israel, owing to the conflict in Gaza.Drogheda’s principal sponsor, Sullivan and Lambe, subsequently said it would be “actively reviewing” its relationship with the club in light of the episode.The Football Association of Ireland has said it will play the fixtures against Israel, scheduled for later this year, due to the threat of “potential disqualification” if they do not.That commitment came three months after the FAI voted to submit a formal motion to UEFA, the governing body of European football, seeking to ban Israel from continental competition.Byrne said in a statement last Wednesday that she would “resist” calls from Drogheda’s board for her to leave the post.Byrne claimed she was informed by the club that her position “was no longer tenable” and it held “an expectation that I would resign”.“This unwarranted action was taken after my public statement last week that Ireland should not play Israel in the Nations League while a genocide against the Palestinian people continues,” Byrne wrote.Israel has denied its war in Gaza amounts to genocide.Byrne added that her view was shared by the “majority of Irish football fans” and that her comments were not made in the capacity of her position at Drogheda or relating to the club.Sullivan and Lambe, the stone supplier company which sponsors Drogheda’s stadium, has said it was “extremely concerned by the attempts to remove Joanna Byrne as chairperson” and it was “deeply troubled” by the development.“We do not believe that political opinions expressed by a sitting TD, especially one who is spokesperson for her political party on sport, should become the basis for interference in the governance of a community football club,” the firm said.Drogheda, who are owned by the U.S.-based Trivela group, released their own statement on Wednesday, stating that “at this time, no changes have been made to the club’s board” and their position with Byrne was “unrelated to anyone’s specific political or moral views”.
Trivela co-owner Benjamin Boycott and Byrne, celebrating Drogheda’s 2024 FAI Cup triumph (Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)The club added: “What was expressed was a concern over the open criticism of UEFA and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), regulatory bodies to whom the club is subject, as well as each club official’s responsibility to respect the neutrality provisions of the FIFA Code of Ethics and the UEFA Statutes.“To be clear, the substance of Ms Byrne’s views has never been attacked by the club or Trivela Group.”Stephen Bradley, the head coach of League of Ireland champions Shamrock Rovers, accused Drogheda’s board of “censoring” Byrne over the issue.“I can’t believe they’ve tried to silence Joanna and use censorship on an opinion,” Bradley said in an interview with RTE. “She has every right to that opinion and we are in very dangerous territory if employers feel they can censor what employees speak about. It’s been really poor from the club’s ownership.”Trivela, an investment group founded in Alabama by Benjamin Boycott and business partner Kenneth Polk, is also the majority shareholder in English club Walsall, Trivela FC in Togo and Silkeborg of Denmark. Drogheda’s five-person board comprises Trivela’s Boycott, Marc Koretzky and Barton Lee, along with chief executive officer Rian Wogan and chairperson Byrne.Israel’s ‘home’ game against the Republic of Ireland is scheduled for September 27 with the return fixture, scheduled to take place in Dublin, set for October 4. Israel has not hosted UEFA matches since October 2023 due to security issues, with the nation playing its scheduled home matches in Hungary since.
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