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NATHAN COLLINS SAYS any player who wishes to voice opposition or make a stand against playing Israel should be allowed to do so.
The Republic of Ireland captain admitted “it’s a tough situation for us to be in” but that the squad have to trust the FAI and Irish government over their stance to fulfil the Nations League fixtures this year.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side are due to play Israel on neutral territory on 27 September, followed by a meeting in Dublin on 4 October.
Although a 93% majority of the FAI’s General Assembly voted last year to put forward a motion to Uefa to suspend Israel from official competition, the FAI say there could be “serious consequences” if they fail to fulfil the fixtures, and it would “harm the long-term sporting interests of Irish football.”
A protest from Palestinian solidarity group “Stop The Games” took place outside the Dáil on Tuesday, while across town, Ireland captain Collins spoke to the media after linking up with a much-changed squad for the friendly game with Qatar at Aviva Stadium on Thursday.
He insisted the Israel issue would not be ignored and that if teammates wished to protest that decision would be respected.
“There will be something for the players to talk about. It’s been tough, though, because the squads have been so split. Obviously you’ve had a lot of senior players last camp and a lot of different amount here so we all need to be there together at once,” he said.
“For players, we just have to trust the FAI. We have to trust the government that they know what they’re doing. We’re picked to play football. You know, we’re picked to represent our country. It’s a tough situation for us to be in, and we have to trust the people around us, that they know what they are doing.
“What we’d speak about is hard to say, because you need the whole group together. But if individuals wanted to take a stand, we are not going to stand against them, we are not going to hold them back. They are entitled to their own opinions. If they are very strong about that, we can’t stop them.”
“FAI shame, shame. We will stop the game.”
— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) May 26, 2026
Pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside Leinster House today to demand that the upcoming Ireland vs Israel match does not go ahead. pic.twitter.com/rtiiDliERK
Collins trained fully with his teammates at Abbotstown today, and he was joined in the session by Troy Parrott after the striker was initially assessed separately by medical staff as the rest of the players began their warm-up.
Parrott returned from a short holiday following the end of AZ Alkmaar’s season on 17 May and was nursing a rib injury. He will now likely train fully on Wednesday before Thursday’s game.
Collins admits there “will be a different feel” to the game but that the same “enthusiasm and excitement” will be there to “represent my country.”
The Ireland skipper feels “we’ve created a culture here and it’s got stronger and stronger” and praised the confidence of young players like Jaden Umeh, Alex Murphy, Jack Moylan, Mason Melia and Adam Brennan who were linking up with the senior squad.
Owen Elding, the former Sligo Rovers forward now with Hibernian, is also part of the group as a training player before his citizenship process is finalised.
“They’re a lot more confident than I was when I was a kid. I think that’s just letting them feel like they should be here, letting them feel that they deserve to be here and I think that’s the big thing to get from them.
“I think the old school way was always really tough for young lads to come in to. And I felt I was at the end of that where I was stepping into a real first-team environment, real old school like when I joined Stoke, there were a lot of real old school players that played lots of games,” Collins said.
“I felt that nervousness that I was nearly a bit scared, but at Brentford we have a similar thing because for a player to play to their best you want them to feel comfortable in the environment.
“It’s a fine line, if you take away that bit of edge, and they’re too comfortable, so you want them to know it’s an honour to be able to come here, but you want them to be comfortable to play to the highest of their level.
“It’s a fine line to be treating that, we want them to come in, they deserve their chance, they’ve been playing at a high level, wherever they have been, and they deserve their chance to come here.
“But they also have to remember they are playing for Ireland, and it’s an absolute honour and they have to play with that edge.”
Written by David Sneyd and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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