Ireland refused to shake hands pre-match or stand on court for the anthems in a EuroBasket qualifier with Israel in February 2024.
Basketball Ireland has announced that Ireland will participate in their 2027 Women’s EuroBasket qualifiers against Israel, following “extensive deliberation”.
In July, Basketball Ireland stated it would “assess the next steps” after being drawn with Israel in the qualifiers, expressing “extreme alarm” regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Having weighed various options, including the possibility of withdrawing from the qualifiers, Basketball Ireland has decided to proceed with the two scheduled games in November and March.
However, the organization has informed FIBA, the European basketball governing body, that Ireland will only compete against Israel at a neutral venue.
Basketball Ireland’s chief executive, John Feehan, cited “lengthy consideration” as the basis for the decision.
“Facing Israel under these circumstances is not our preferred scenario, but there has been no change in Israel’s status within sport, as determined by FIBA Europe, the IOC, or any other major sporting body,” he stated.
“FIBA Europe has made it clear that sanctions would be imposed on Basketball Ireland should we choose not to play, which would be significantly detrimental to the sport here.”
Ireland weigh options after being drawn with Israel
Basketball Ireland noted that it had “already experienced a 14-year absence from international basketball in the recent past,” emphasizing that a decision not to fulfill the fixtures with Israel would be “extremely damaging to Irish basketball and the women’s game.”
Sanctions for boycotting the first fixture with Israel, scheduled for November 18, could have included a fine of 80,000 euros (£69,000).
Failure to participate in the return fixture would have resulted in an additional fine of 100,000 euros (£86,000) and disqualification from qualifying for the 2027 and 2029 EuroBasket campaigns.
While Ireland could have withdrawn before the qualification process began, incurring a 30,000 euros fine (£26,000), FIBA Europe rules left the possibility of further sanctions.
Ireland will also compete against Luxembourg and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Group A.
This is not the first instance of Ireland being drawn against Israel since the onset of the conflict in Gaza in October 2023.
In a 2025 EuroBasket qualifier in February 2024, the Irish team refused to shake hands with their Israeli counterparts and remained on the sidelines during the national anthems.
Prior to that qualifier, Israel player Dor Saar described the Ireland team as “quite antisemitic” in response to concerns raised by Irish players.
Israel’s coach, Sharon Drucker, also asserted that Ireland “did not respect” the significance of the game. Basketball Ireland refuted Saar’s comments as “inflammatory and wholly inaccurate,” reporting them to FIBA Europe.
FIBA issued a warning to Ireland for their protest. In a subsequent EuroBasket qualifier held in Riga in November, the players stood for the anthems and shook hands with the Israeli team.