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Kneecap, The Mary Wallopers, Fontaines D.C. and Annie Mac are amongst the artists who are backing the Stop The Game campaign – which aims to boycott an upcoming Ireland vs Israel football match.
Many public figures and football fans have argued for Ireland to boycott the UEFA champions league match against Israel set to take place at the Aviva stadium in October.
In protest of the controversial match, many have reposted a video featuring footage from previous football matches spliced with clips of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
“In the last 30 months, Israel has killed 565 Palestinian footballers in Gaza,” the video reads. “Playing Israel is supporting Genocide.”
In response to pressure from fans to boycott the fixture, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) CEO, David Courell, said that Ireland had “no choice” but to play, given the threat of sanctions from European football’s governing body, UEFA. Courell added that they are acting in the best interests of Irish football.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that he believes the game should go ahead. He urged people to separate the government of Israel from its people. In contrast, former Ireland manager Brian Kerr recently told Virgin Media that separating football and politics was “baloney” and that this is an opportunity for the FAI to make a stance for the Palestinian people.
“We cannot play the representatives of a state committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) wrote in a statement on Instagram.
Kneecap have a long history of supporting the Palestinian cause. Last year, the hip-hop trio lost their US visa sponsor following messages about the Gaza genocide displayed onstage during their Coachella set.
The band will release their new album ‘FENIAN’ on 1 May. The album’s name comes from the word for Irish republican revolutionaries that sought to achieve the independence of Ireland from the British Empire in the 19th century and the early 20th century.