Soccer Football – UEFA Nations League Draw – Brussels Expo, Brussels, Belgium – Feb. 12, 2026, General view during the draw. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

The former captain of Ireland’s national soccer team has argued that the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) should not boycott its two upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Israel, expressing disappointment that his country’s home game against the Jewish state was moved to Serbia.

Kenny Cunningham stated that the scheduled games at neutral venues in Debrecen, Hungary on Sept. 27 and behind closed doors in Bačka Topola, Serbia on Oct. 4 should proceed as scheduled, although he would have liked the October match to take place in Ireland.

“I think the games should go ahead, and I think the home game should have gone ahead in Dublin, that’s my opinion,” Cunningham said at a launch event for Premier Sports’ 2026/27 coverage in Ireland, according to The Irish Times. “It is messy, but I think the game should have gone ahead in Dublin … I’m not sure what the answer is to the conflict, but I don’t think us denying the Israelis a game in Dublin, or even canceling the game, moves things any way forward in a positive way.”

In November 2025, the FAI proposed a motion that called on the UEFA to suspend Israel from international soccer matches because of the latter’s military actions in the Gaza Strip, where they are targeting Hamas terrorists controlling the enclave who orchestrated the massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The motion was rejected. Protests then erupted in Ireland after the UEFA announced in February that the country would compete against Israel in the Nations League this fall, including in the Oct. 4 match that was originally scheduled to take place in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

In May, a friendly match against Ireland and Qatar in Dublin was stopped twice by home fans protesting against the team’s upcoming fixtures against Israel. The FAI ultimately decided that the Oct. 4 game would be played behind closed doors in Bačka Topola, a town in northern Serbia, citing “operational challenges” that could prevent it from safely staging the game “on home soil.”

Cunningham said that even though “there is a perception” that many Irish people have strong opinions against Israel, its foreign policy, and its treatment of Palestinians, “I don’t feel canceling this game takes the argument any further.”

“I think it would be a good thing to see the Israeli team come on to the pitch in the Aviva [Stadium]. I think it would be a good thing to see the Israeli national anthem respected inside the Aviva, because, that for me, would send a signal, maybe from the Irish people to the Israeli people who have suffered as well in this conflict,” he explained, as reported by The Irish Times. “On a human level, we are actually together here. There are politicians making decisions around this, but genuinely between the Israeli people and the Irish people there is a bit of understanding there on a human level about what has been happening. I know people will say, ‘How can you suggest that?’ But I think it would resonate more for me rather than people throwing things at the Israelis or spraying paint on walls in hotels that the Israeli team would have stayed in.”

“We will respect your [Israeli] national anthem for those reasons,” he added. “We’ll respect what you have been through on Oct. 7, the people you lost in harrowing circumstances, which precipitated the recent stage of the conflict.”

Cunningham also said he believes most soccer players would want to participate in the Nations League matches. “My gut reaction tells me that the majority of players would want to play it.”

Israel has not hosted international soccer games since the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

Former Ireland captains James McClean and Louise Quinn, as well as ex-manager Brian Kerr, have previously said Ireland should not compete against Israel in the two Nations League fixtures this fall. Republic of Ireland Manager Heimir Hallgrímsson said he believes his team should compete in the two games against Israel, but will respect the decision of any player who refuses to participate in the matches.

No tickets will be sold to Republic of Ireland supporters for the two upcoming UEFA Nations League due to “operational challenges and safety and security concerns,” the FAI said. Israel will allocate a small amount of tickets to its fans for the game on Sept. 27 since that match is considered the country’s “home game.”