These two red cards are going to rightly spice things up for future Ireland v Qatar matches.
Itâll be grudge stuff like Camross v Castletown.
Both to get a red would have been some price
Jason Molumby is a wonderful wum.
As a former Aberdeen manager might have said, Jayson MoWUMby.
A good win for Ireland in a gruelling, physical international Test Match.
Itâs a great sign of HH that the Qatar players heâd worked with before were so happy too see him.
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That was a standard enough rubbish June BH weekend ROI friendly. Watched 2nd half, was enough
What is likely to happen from a footballing point of view if we refused to play the Israel match in autumn?
Israel would be awarded a 3-0 victory for each match Ireland did not participate in.
No further action would be taken against Ireland.
Ireland would lose the points, and win something far, far greater in terms of importance.
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Theyâll probably blow up Shannon Airport in a false flag operation. Footballistically, I dunno, probably be fined or something.
And what would be the impact then on qualifying for euro 28 or future ranking for qualifying for other tournaments?
Fuck all
As a wise man said, youâre either good enough or youâre not
If the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) decided to boycott a Nations League fixture against Israel, the decision would trigger immediate, severe regulatory and sporting repercussions. UEFA views the refusal to fulfill a scheduled competitive fixture as a major breach of its statutes, and historically, the governing body has taken a strict line against mixing geopolitics with the completion of tournament brackets.
The consequences would unfold across three distinct areas: immediate disciplinary actions, the direct impact on the Nations League ranking, and the knock-on effect on the Euro 2028 qualification campaign.
1. Immediate UEFA Disciplinary Actions
Under Article 25 of the UEFA Nations League Regulations (âRefusal to play and similar casesâ), a flat refusal to take the pitch leads to automatic sporting and financial penalties.
- Match Forfeiture: The game would be declared a forfeit, resulting in an automatic 3-0 loss for Ireland and 3 points awarded to Israel.
- Massive Financial Fines & Withheld Funding: Under Article 25.04, the FAI would lose all rights to UEFA central payments for the Nations League. Additionally, the FAI would likely be fined heavily and forced to compensate the opposing association and broadcasters for lost television and commercial revenue.
- The Ultimate Risk (Disqualification): If UEFAâs Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body decides the circumstances do not justify the boycott, they have the power to disqualify Ireland from the competition entirely. If disqualified, all of Irelandâs previous results in that Nations League cycle would be declared null and void.
2. The Direct Impact on Euro 2028 Qualification
The Nations League is no longer just a standalone tournament; it is structurally tied to major tournament qualification. Boycotting a match could derail Irelandâs path to Euro 2028 in several ways.
The Seedings and Rankings Hit
UEFA uses the overall Nations League rankings to determine the seeding pots for the European Championship qualifying draw.
- An automatic 3-0 lossâor worse, a total disqualificationâwould tank Irelandâs ranking coefficient.
- This would drop Ireland into a much lower seeding pot (e.g., Pot 4 or 5), guaranteeing a nightmare Euro 2028 qualifying group alongside multiple elite European giants.
Loss of the Play-off Safety Net
The Nations League provides a crucial safety net for Euro qualification. Typically, the best-performing teams in the Nations League who fail to qualify for the Euros through the traditional group stage are granted a second chance via the Euro Play-offs.
- If Ireland forfeits matches or is disqualified from the Nations League, they completely forfeit their right to this backdoor play-off route.
- It would mean Euro 2028 qualification would become an âall-or-nothingâ scenario through the standard group stage, made significantly harder by a degraded seeding rank.
3. The Euro 2028 Host Nation Dilemma
The stakes are uniquely high for Ireland because Euro 2028 is being co-hosted across Ireland and the UK (with games scheduled for the Aviva Stadium in Dublin).
While automatic host qualification is usually a given, UEFA changed the rules for Euro 2028 because there are five co-hosts (Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England). UEFA has reserved only two automatic host spots as a safety net for the co-hosts who fail to qualify through normal means. These spots will be awarded based on standard qualifying performance.
If the FAI enters a protracted legal and political battle with UEFA over a fixture boycott, it severely compromises Irelandâs standing within European football governance at the exact moment Dublin is preparing to welcome the tournament.
In a worst-case scenario, if UEFA decided to escalate sanctions beyond a simple tournament disqualification to a temporary suspension of membership (similar to past actions taken against associations for government interference or systemic rule breaches), Irelandâs automatic host safety-net status could be stripped entirely, or their ability to participate in Euro 2028 qualification at all could be put at risk.
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Gemini is a lot more pessimistic
I saw The Voice of Hind Rajab in the cinema there a month or so ago.
I donât think anyone could watch it and come out and say we should play them after.
Catherine Ardagh TD of Fianna Fail said the other night Ireland should play Israel because sport and politics shouldnât mix.
It seemed to me sheâd never even heard of apartheid South Africa being banned from sport.
I mean you expect this sort of vacuous sloganeering from headbangers on a forum like Labane but from a Fianna Fail TD? Actually yes, theyâd be the people youâd expect it most of all from.
the gga has an explicitly ethnocentric & political rulebook
There are numerous other threads to lambaste the gga, try to stay on topic mate.
I donât think we should play Israel either. Fuck them.
Pity about Moylanâs red card last night. That ref seems to be a bit of a dick. Iâd seen him featured on SSN before - putting himself out there as a young trailblazer etc.
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A referee with an Instagram account is not to be trusted.
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