UEFA defends policy after rejecting Ireland’s request not to play Israel

UEFA has said that decisions on whether national teams should be kept apart in ⁠⁠competition draws are made ⁠⁠on a case-by-case basis and guided primarily by security considerations, after the Republic of Ireland’s football association said its request to avoid future pairings with Israel had been ⁠⁠rejected.

Football Association of Ireland chief executive David Courell said on Friday that it had asked UEFA if the Republic of Ireland and Israel could be separated in future draws ⁠⁠after being paired in February’s Nations League draw.

They are due to meet in that competition on September 27 and October 4.

European football’s governing body said requests to stop teams being drawn against each other are considered individually.

“Decisions to avoid certain teams being ‌‌drawn against each other are made taking into consideration several factors, especially conditions between the two countries leading to structural risks for security,” UEFA said in a statement on Saturday.

“UEFA handles every situation very carefully on its own merits and monitors all facts and developments.”

Courell told reporters the FAI had been informed that such an arrangement would not be possible because Ireland and Israel had “never been in direct conflict”.

The Israel Football Association also responded ⁠⁠to Courell’s remarks, questioning whether a formal request had been ⁠⁠made to UEFA.

“The question should be directed at UEFA: was there an official inquiry or request regarding this matter, or is this merely another inconsequential statement?” IFA head of communications Shlomi Barzel told the Reuters news agency.

“Since we long ago ⁠⁠stopped getting worked up over statements detached from reality, we are focusing on high-quality professional preparations to achieve our goals on ⁠⁠the pitch.”

The fixtures have been controversial in Ireland amid the ⁠⁠conflict in the Middle East.

Last November, members of the FAI voted overwhelmingly for its board to request that UEFA should suspend the IFA from European competitions, while in May, leading Irish footballers and celebrities joined in a ‌‌campaign for a boycott of Ireland’s home Nations League fixture.

Ireland’s designated home match on October 4 is due to be played behind closed doors in Backa Topola, Serbia, instead of ‌‌Dublin, ‌‌while Irish fans will not receive tickets for Israel’s designated home fixture in Debrecen, Hungary, the previous weekend.