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Irish Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Basketball Ireland ‘assessing next steps' after women's team drawn in group with Israel
Basketball Ireland has said it is assessing its 'next steps' after being drawn in a qualifying group for the women's European basketball championships that includes the Israeli national team. The organisation said it was 'extremely alarmed by the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza ', and did not confirm that it would play the fixture as scheduled. It said it was 'awaiting clarifications on a number of matters' with Fiba Europe, the European basketball governing body. A spokesperson for Basketball Ireland declined to provide details to The Irish Times on what matters it had raised with Fiba Europe and what clarifications had been sought from the body. READ MORE Basketball Ireland said it 'will also be liaising with players, coaching staff, Sport Ireland, the Government, and other stakeholders over the coming days'. The organisation expects to provide an update on the situation next week. A spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport said Basketball Ireland was an independent body and was 'autonomous in their decision making, including regarding the organisation of and participation in international sporting competitions'. 'Neither the Minister nor the department has any role in this regard and there has been no communication recently on this matter between the department and Basketball Ireland,' a spokesperson said. The Irish women's squad is ranked 81st in the world, while the Israeli national team is 47th. The two teams are first scheduled to play each other on November 18th in Israel, the Irish squad's final fixture in the early stages of the qualifying round. Basketball Ireland would suffer a fine of up to €80,000 if the team failed to play the game after the qualifying competition started, the organisation said. 'Failure to play the return game would lead to a fine of up to €100,000' and removal from the next two European basketball championships, in 2027 and 2029, it added. 'Should Basketball Ireland elect to withdraw from the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers campaign entirely before they commence, a fine of up to €30,000 would be applied', as well as 'additional sanctions' from FIBA Europe which could include 'exclusion from future competitions'. Basketball Ireland secured a core grant from Sporting Ireland last year of €900,000, with a €63,908 grant earmarked for 'women in sport'. Financial statements showed the organisation was working at a €188,000 deficit last year. The Irish team also expressed discomfort with fulfilling fixtures against the Israeli team last year. Basketball Ireland said it could not 'guarantee the safety of the Israeli team' playing a fixture in Dublin due to 'the likelihood of protests' over their presence in the State. [ From the archive: Basketball Ireland CEO on playing Israel game: 'I'm not prepared to destroy my sport for a gesture that will have no impact' Opens in new window ] Israeli team member Dor Saar said last year that 'it's known that they [Ireland] are quite anti-Semitic, it's not a secret', which Basketball Ireland strongly denied and condemned. The fixtures were played, although 'traditional prematch arrangements', such as players shaking hands and exchanging gifts, were not carried out. [ How did the Irish women's basketball team become embroiled in controversy over Israel? Opens in new window ] Israel won both the first game, which led to the terse exchange of words, and the return fixture, both taking place in Riga.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ireland 'assessing next steps' after Israel draw
Basketball Ireland says it is "assessing next steps" after being drawn with Israel in a European qualifier. Ireland are set to face Israel, along with Luxembourg and Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 2027 EuroBasket qualifying in November. Basketball Ireland says it has spoken to Fiba Europe, European basketball's governing body, and is "extremely alarmed by the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza" and is awaiting "clarifications on a number of matters". It also says it will liaise with players, staff, the Irish government and other stakeholders. In a statement released on Wednesday, Basketball Ireland says it would be fined 80,000 euros if it does not fulfil the fixture on 18 November, and would face an additional 100,000 euro fine if it did not participate in the return fixture. It says Ireland would also be removed from qualifying and be banned from the 2029 EuroBasket qualifiers. A 30,000 euro fine would be imposed if Ireland elected to withdraw from qualifying before it starts, but Fiba Europe might impose additional sanctions and has the power to exclude teams from future competitions. Qualifying is set to take place over two windows in November 2025 and March 2026. It is not the first time Ireland have been drawn to face Israel since the ongoing conflict in Gaza started in October 2023. Ireland refused to shake hands with Israel and stood at the side of the court for the national anthems in a 2025 EuroBasket qualifier in February 2024. When Irish players raised concerns before that qualifier, Israel player Dor Saar said the Ireland team was "quite antisemitic". Israel coach Sharon Drucker also said Ireland "did not respect" what the game symbolises, while Basketball Ireland said Saar's comments were "inflammatory and wholly inaccurate", and reported the remarks to European basketball's governing body Fiba Europe. Ireland were warned by Fiba for their protest, and players stood for the anthems on court and shook hands with Israel's players in a second EuroBasket qualifier between the sides in Riga in November. Fiba have been contacted about Basketball Ireland's statement. BBC News coverage of the Israel-Gaza war
BBC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Ireland 'assessing next steps' after Israel draw
Basketball Ireland says it is "assessing next steps" after being draw with Israel in a European qualifier. Ireland are set to face Israel, along with Luxembourg and Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 2027 EuroBasket qualifying in Ireland says it has spoken to Fiba Europe, European basketball's governing body, and is "extremely alarmed by the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza" and is awaiting "clarifications on a number of matters".It also says it will liaise with players, staff, the Irish government and other stakeholders. In a statement released on Wednesday, external, Basketball Ireland says it would be fined 80,000 euro if it does not fulfil the fixture on 18 November, and would face an additional 100,000 euro fine if it did not participate in the return says Ireland would also be removed from qualifying and be banned from the 2029 EuroBasket qualifiers.A 30,000 euro fine would be imposed if Ireland elected to withdraw from qualifying before it starts, but Fiba Europe may impose additional sanctions and has the power to exclude teams from future is set to take place over two windows in November 2025 and March is not the first time Ireland have been drawn to face Israel since the ongoing conflict in Gaza started in October 2023. Ireland refused to shake hands with Israel and stood at the side of the court for the national anthems in a 2025 EuroBasket qualifier in February 2024. When Irish players raised concerns before that qualifier, Israel player Dor Saar said the Ireland team was "quite anti-Semitic".Israel coach Sharon Drucker also said Ireland "did not respect" what the game symbolises, while Basketball Ireland said that Saar's comments were "inflammatory and wholly inaccurate", and reported the remarks to European basketball's governing body Fiba were warned by Fiba for their protest, and players stood for the anthems on court and shook hands with Israel's players in a second EuroBasket qualifier between the sides in Riga in have been contacted about Basketball Ireland's statement.
