SIPTU, Ireland's largest trade union, announced on Wednesday, June 24, that it has written to RTÉ calling on the station to refuse to broadcast scheduled football fixtures against Israel.
Additionally, the trade union, which represents some 180,000 workers across Ireland, told RTÉ that it is committed to supporting workers who refuse to work on the fixtures.
The letter comes less than two weeks after the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed that UEFA has approved a request to host the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League match between Ireland and Israel "overseas, in a neutral venue and behind closed doors."
While the match, which is scheduled for October 4, has been moved out of Ireland, there are still calls for it to be scrapped altogether.
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“The Irish government and the FAI must step up to ensure the matches don’t take place," SIPTU Services Divisional Organiser Adrian Kane said in the letter to RTÉ.
"Should they fail to do so, SIPTU workers in RTÉ will not accept being put on the wrong side of history, assisting with sportswashing Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.”
Kane added: “We note and praise the decision by RTÉ, along with other European Public Broadcasting Networks, to refuse to broadcast the Eurovision earlier this year.
"We are asking that RTÉ show the same moral courage on this occasion and refuse to broadcast the matches scheduled for September and October.
“There is widespread anger amongst the Irish public that these games are taking place when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israel is plausibly committing the crime of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
"Furthermore, a UN Independent Commission of Inquiry and the International Association of Genocide Scholars concluded that Israel is committing a genocide.”
SIPTU said it is also calling for immediate Government action in support of a boycott of the games, in line with the view of the clear majority of the Irish public.
SIPTU Deputy General Secretary Greg Ennis said: “The IDF’s colonisation of Palestine continues.
"An Israeli Football Team, largely made up of veteran and reservist IDF soldiers, does not deserve to be in the same country, let alone the same football stadium as the Irish National Team, be it in Lansdowne Road, Budapest, or anywhere else for that matter.
“Israel and its so-called Defence Force have been directly responsible for the deaths of almost 600 Palestinian Footballers in the last 32 months. Israel has destroyed multiple football facilities, including the Sports Club Stadium in Gaza and has used other football facilities as detention centres.
“There is no way that our Boys in Green should be left pondering these matters over the summer months. The Irish Government, which recognised the Palestinian State, needs to be consistent, show real leadership and deliver on the will of the Irish people.”
He added: “Moving these fixtures from Dublin to a neutral venue behind closed doors does not resolve the issue. It merely is an attempt to move the Palestinian picket line out of sight. Our position is clear – don’t pass that picket line in Dublin, in Budapest or anywhere else.”
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