Latest news with #BasketballIreland
BreakingNews.ie
8 hours ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
'Sometimes it's bigger than basketball': Calls grow for Govt support over Ireland-Israel fixture
Politicians and former players are calling for the Government to support Basketball Ireland while it considers its next steps after being drawn in the same group as Israel for a women's European campaign. James Weldon's side will be in qualifying Group A in the Women's EuroBasket 2027 qualifiers, along with Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Luxembourg. Advertisement Ireland are due to travel to Israel for an away game on November 18th. In a statement, Basketball Ireland highlighted that on commencement of the competition, it would be subject to a fine of up to €80,000 should Ireland fail to fulfil their first fixture with Israel. Meanwhile, failure to play the return game would lead to a fine of up to €100,000 and removal from the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers, as well as the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2029 Qualifiers. Former player, Rebecca O'Keeffe, said the sporting body will need the backing of the government. Advertisement "If there are sanctions, absolutely the Government should be stepping in to help. Basketball is a very underfunded sport in this country, even though it's one of the fastest-growing," she said. The two sides met in a controversial qualifier in the Latvian capital, Riga, in February of 2024, despite public pressure to boycott the game over Israel's bombardment of Gaza. "I appreicate the transparency with Basketball Ireland this time round where they said [they] have been talking to the relevant delegations and sporting bodies and the government can absolutely step in and help," O'Keeffe said. "There is public support for this. They have options. Sometimes it's bigger than basketball, sometimes it's bigger than money." Advertisement Social Democrats sports spokesperson, Sinead Gibney, said other sports need to examine whether they compete in competitions involving Israel. She said Athletics Ireland should consider its participation in the World Athletics Championships in September. "I certainly think Athletics Irleand should be looking at it, absolutely. And I realise what that means, I realise what we're asking of our athletes and I don't want to apply pressure to any individual athelete. "That's why the governing bodies need to be the ones to look at it and take that action." Sinn Féin foreign affairs spokesperson, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, said the responsibility of the situation in Gaza should not be on the players' shoulders. "I think the Irish people, they're not looking towards the likes of the basketball team to make decisions, albeit boycotts are imminently justifiable and I think right," he said. "They're looking at the Irish Government. They want to see the Occupied Territories Bill advanced. They want to see the issue in relation to the war bonds being resolved and they want to see further action and a more vocal approach at a European level."
Irish Times
10 hours 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.
RTÉ News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Ireland consider withdrawing from FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 qualifiers following draw with Israel
Basketball Ireland have issued a statement expressing concern over the ongoing crisis in Gaza, as they consider withdrawing from the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 qualifiers after being drawn in a group with Israel. At present, the governing body has spoken with FIBA Europe and are awaiting further clarification. "Basketball Ireland is extremely alarmed by the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza," they outlined in a press release on Wednesday. "And as such we are assessing our next steps following today's FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers draw, which saw Ireland drawn in Group A alongside Israel, in addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Luxembourg." This draw echoes a similar lottery that saw the Irish women's basketball team participate against Israel during the Women's EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers in November 2024. This fixture was met with protest from the Irish players who refused to shake hands with their opponents. Should Ireland fail to participate in their first away qualifier against Israel, they will be subject to a fine of up to €80,000. Subsequently, failure to take part in their return fixture against Israel will result in a fine of up to €100,000 and removal from the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers and the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2029 Qualifiers. If Ireland elects to withdraw from the Women's EuroBasket 2027 qualifying campaign altogether before it starts, they would be applied a fine of up to €30,000. Additionally, FIBA Europe rules state that they "may impose additional sanctions according to the FIBA Internal Regulations - Book 1 - General Provisions (Chapter 6)" which is concerned with 'disqualification from a competition in progress and/or exclusion from future competitions'.
Yahoo
16 hours 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
17 hours 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.
