THE thing about integrity is that to have it, you must stand by your beliefs even when it is unpopular or detrimental to you.

The quickest way to test whether a person or organisation has integrity is to offer them power, money or increase the pressure.

So here we are, staring down the barrel of a potential Nations League match between Ireland and Israel.

A game that will be unsafe on the pitch, off the pitch, for fans and staff alike.

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The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) previously voted by 74 to seven to request Israel’s suspension from European club and international competitions back in November 2025.

This is in line with the general mood of the Irish public, who are among the strongest supporters in the world of boycotting anything to do with Israel, given the genocide and war crimes they have committed and continue to commit on some of the most vulnerable people on earth.

To no surprise, no such suspension ever took place. Israel goes on to bomb and maim children while taking part in international sports like the Olympics and, for some unknown and geographically dubious reason, the Eurovision Song Contest.

An FAI statement explained that the Irish national team would play against Israel to avoid “disciplinary measures” which UEFA could impose if they refused to compete.

Can you imagine explaining being afraid of UEFA “disciplinary measures” to an orphan amputee who lives in a tent?

Now we find ourselves in a country-wide debate.

To the surprise of absolutely no-one, Micheál Martin and Simon Harris, the “Fianna Gael” leadership, say the match should go ahead.

It would be an easier challenge to find a council house around Dublin’s Government Buildings than integrity.

It does exist, however, in RTÉ, who announced they would be boycotting the Eurovision Song Contest while Israel was allowed to compete.

Back then, a whole two months ago, Martin said: “I fully understand the decision of RTÉ as a broadcaster because there are two groups of people, among many, who acted extremely brave during the war in Gaza – the medical community and journalists.

“And this is, among other things, an act of solidarity with those journalists who were killed in breach of international humanitarian law during the war in Gaza. Without those journalists, the world would not have known to the degree that it knows the horrors of what transpired in Gaza.”

Around 800 athletes and 350 footballers have been murdered by Israel. Does the taoiseach of Ireland not believe in solidarity in sport?

That’s the thing about integrity. If you’re picking and choosing your solidarity, it means you have none at all.

The people of Ireland would not share a stage in a very fun and very camp singing competition, but could now be forced to stand shoulder to shoulder as the Israeli national anthem plays over our heads at a soccer game.

Considering the other things that have fallen around the ears of innocent people at Israel’s behest, maybe we should count ourself lucky it’s just some music.

The notion that sport can be left out of politics is laughable in general but more hypocritical when Russia have already been banned since 2022 after invading Ukraine.

(The Fianna Gael leadership were right behind that decision, but you could’ve guessed that anyway.)

A boycott is not supposed to be easy. It’s not supposed to be costless. Integrity is costly, that’s the point.

The FAI are going to lose a few games of football and some money, while over 70,000 Gazans have lost their lives.

Arrest warrants have been issued for the prime minister of the nation for war crimes and people still believe that the Ireland team should tog out next to those representing this genocidal state.

It will not be these men in suits who will bear the brunt of it either. It’ll be the team of young men, who are forced into this impossible situation, that will bear the brunt of public feeling and resistance.

No-one is chasing a FAI board member down the street for an autograph. Likewise, they won’t be on the end of abuse for playing against Israel. The FAI has a duty to take this crisis away from their players and fans.

Former Ireland manager Brian Kerr said last week that the FAI “have never been a beacon of ethics and principles”, so maybe expecting better is our own foolishness and naivety.

With a government and football association without a shred of integrity between them, it is left to the public to make our feelings known.

Israel should not be welcomed into any international competitions, no matter the game or contest.

This is obvious to anyone with any common decency, but maybe that’s lacking around Government Buildings too.

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© The Irish News