Diarmuid Breatnach
(Reading time: 5 mins.)
An impromptu demonstration in solidarity with Gavin Bazuno, the Ireland team goalkeeper, attracted many participants on late Sunday afternoon 27 September in Dublin. The call-out had only been posted the previous evening.
24 year-old goalkeeper Gavin Bazuno declined to play against the team of the genocidal Israel state, against which the Irish team were drawn in the UEFA Nations competition, despite the controversial decision of the team’s management and the Football Association of Ireland to go ahead.
Responding to the overwhelming majority sentiment in Ireland and of the members of the Association, the FAI executive in November had requested UEFA to exclude the Israeli team from the competition, which UEFA executives refused to do.1
Until September, long after FAI members’ fears were realised and in February the Irish team had been drawn to play ‘Israel’, the UEFA board had also refused to exempt Ireland from being drawn against ‘Iosrael’ (which they have the power to do)2 in future games.
Attendance at the Dublin rally drew from a broad pool without any clear political party or indeed solidarity organisation dominance. Placards were not plentiful but some home-made ones could be seen and indeed the banner calling for solidarity with Bazuno was sprayed on white sheets.
A placard appeared showing an IOF sniper, referencing ‘Israeli’ player Said Abu Sarchi taking the ‘sniper position’ after scoring against Austria, for which he was sent off, to his apparent great surprise (after all, it’s normal in ‘Israel’ to actually shoot, not just mime shooting Palestinians).3
In order to comply with Palestinian society’s request for a boycott of ‘Israel’ to include sports competitions, a number of groups have been specifically campaigning against firstly ‘Israel’ being permitted to enter the competition and secondly for the Irish football team to refuse to play them.
The main ones have been League of Ireland fans, Stop the Game and Ireland Sports for Palestine. Over 160 Irish sports people signed a letter asking the Irish team not to play and Jacinta O’Keefe, registered to compete in the Pondevedra Triathlon withdrew due to ‘Israeli’ athlete participation.
The Show Israel the Red Card banner seemed the only printed one present at the rally, whereas a number of sheets had been spray-painted in order to together spell out Stand with Bazuno 4 Gaza.
A home-made placard read: Nice Save, Gavin! The flags flown among the crowd were mostly Palestinian with some Irish Tricolours and one Starry Plough.
There was hardly a Garda uniform in evidence, nor was any stewarding organised or required: the main group occupied the GPO side while a smaller group stood on the central pedestrian reservation. A street person danced a bit in the road but generally withdrew as vehicles approached.
The ad-hoc nature of the rally and absence of any organisation’s control was illustrated by the lack of printed placards or banners, by much of the speeches from people with megaphones and in particular by the slogans chanted.
Specific slogans included: Don’t play the Game!
We Support Gavin Bazuno! FAI, you can’t hide – You’re supporting genocide!
There’s Only One Bazuno!
But there were also other chants relating to Ireland more generally, such as against British Unionists and their attempted Orange Order march on the Garvaghy Road4 and the slogan referring to both occupation of Ireland and of Palestine: Irish people understand: No peace on stolen land!
The more usual slogans of Palestine solidarity were also chanted: Free, Free: Palestine!
From the River to the Sea – Palestine will be free! From the Sea to the River – Palestine will live for ever! In our thousands and our millions – We are all Palestinians!
There is only one solution: Intifada revolution!
1, 2, 3, 4 – Occupation no more! 5, 6, 7, 8 – Israel is a terrorist state!
Saoirse – Don Phalaistín!
A recording of Martin Leahy’s Don’t Play was amplified with the crowd joining in on the chorus, which repeats the title of the composition.
The air of Don’t Play has been used earlier for many songs and chants, first recorded in 1864 as the air for Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, a song composed by George Frederick Root to give Union troop captives of the Confederacy hope of liberation in the American Civil war.
Not long after its USA composition, the air was used for the God Save Ireland! song by Irish nationalist MP, journalist and poet T.D. Sullivan in honour of the Manchester Martyrs, the three Fenians who were framed, convicted and hanged in front of a baying crowd in Manchester in 1867.
The title is taken from the words shouted by the three as they were sentenced to hang and the song became very popular, particularly in Ireland where, for decades it was the unofficial national anthem until eventually replaced by Amhrán na bhFiann.5
Wide fallout followed the decision of the FAI that the Irish team would play the fixtures drawn against ‘Israel’. UEFA scheduled the games to take place in Serbia (without any Irish fans) and Hungary. RTÉ€6 declined to accept advertising or to provide commentary on the games.
In the run up to the game, attempting to project the decision to play in a positive light, the Ireland team manager Heimar Hallgrimsson said that rather than playing with genocide, they were ‘playing against Genocide’.This comment drew a tirade of abuse from the ‘Israeli’ Football Association.7
However at a subsequent press conference, Hallgrimsson withdrew the ‘Genocide’ comment, ascribing his use of it to the popular Irish pressure not to sportswash ‘Israel’ and the demand of ‘Don’t play with genocide.’
According to reports, out of the Irish team of 24, eight voted not to play, at a meeting from which it appears that Bazuno was excluded but the rest voted to play. They were then organised to wear armbands mourning the Palestinians killed and to lower their heads during the Zionist anthem.
On the field, the Irish team captain declined to shake hands with the ‘Israeli’ one. The FAI claimed that they had done well apart from their 3-0 win but many felt that to play at all was to lose something more important.
It may well have been a tactical campaign mistake not to include the players from the outset in the call for boycott of the game, giving them time to realise and prepare for the fact that if the FAI and Irish Government failed to call for the boycott, then it would come down to them.
The call not to target the players for action, even in that way, seems to have been mistaken. All those of sound mental state are responsible for their actions or lack of them. More importantly perhaps, young men and women of principle will be required to build the Irish nation that we need.
And nothing could be worse than genocide.
End.
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FOOTNOTES
SOURCES & FURTHER READING
1https://news.sky.com/story/irelands-fa-passes-vote-seeking-uefa-ban-on-israel-competing-in-european-competitions-13466564
2https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/2026/09/18/uefa-reject-fais-request-to-be-kept-apart-from-israel-in-future-competition-draws/ and https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/9/19/uefa-defends-policy-after-rejecting-irelands-request-not-to-play-israel
3https://www.instagram.com/p/DdvXWXBG6Y4/ Even more horrible is that he is of Palestinian Arab background. The discourse that it’s a harmless snooker game stance does not warrant entertaining (unless the apologists can show how snooker shots are taken by players of the game while on their knees).
4A road in the nationalist area of West Belfast upon which the British-loyal Orange Order are demanding to be permitted to march
5Original title, The Soldiers’ Song; but for the State, it is the air of the chorus alone that constitutes the ‘National Anthem’.
6Radio Teilifís Éireann, the national broadcaster for television and radio.
7https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/2026/09/21/israel-fa-considering-complaint-against-heimir-hallgrimsson-for-use-of-word-genocide/
