Basketball Ireland: Israel beats Ireland as players shake hands in EuroBasket qualifiers
It is not the first time Ireland has been drawn into a confrontation with Israel since the Gaza conflict began in October 2023, when gunmen led by Hamas attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Since then, Israeli military action in Gaza has killed more than 69,483 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Ireland refused to shake hands with Israel and stood courtside for the anthems in the EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers in February 2024.
When Irish players raised concerns ahead of that qualifier, Israel player Dor Sarr said the Ireland team was “quite anti-Semitic”.
Israel coach Sharon Drucker also said Ireland had “disrespected” what the game symbolizes, while Basketball Ireland said Saar’s comments were “inflammatory and completely untrue” and reported the remarks to European basketball governing body Fiba Europa.
Ireland were cautioned by Fiba for the protests, and players stood for anthems on the pitch and shook hands with Israel’s players in the second EuroBasket qualifier between the two sides in Riga in November 2024.
When discussing its decision in August to fill Tuesday’s match, Basketball Ireland said it had “already experienced a 14-year absence from international basketball in the recent past” and that any decision not to fill matches with Israel would be “extremely damaging to Irish basketball and the women’s game”.
Sanctions could have included an €80,000 (£69,000) fine had Ireland boycotted the first leg with Israel, while failure in the second leg would have led to an additional €100,000 (£86,000) fine and exclusion from qualification for the 2027 and 2029 EuroBasket campaigns.
Ireland could have withdrawn before the qualifiers began and been fined €30,000 (£26,000), but FIBA Europe rules leave the door open to further sanctions.
2025-11-18 21:28:00
