At a mostly deserted venue in Riga, Latvia, the words “We Love Israel” read out on an electronic billboard behind the Irish players, looking grim as they stood courtside ahead of their European Championship qualifying match.
Many of his teammates (reportedly five) chose to remain at home, with 12 traveling in the style of players who wish they were elsewhere.
The tumultuous development led to intense pressure from both sides to boycott the match due to the massacre in Gaza. On the other side, the sport’s international governing body, threatened him with a hefty fine and a five-year international ban if he refused to take part in the match and the return match in Israel next November. Basketball Ireland insisted they had no choice but to play.
It was by no means a quiet affair, but images of Israeli Defense Forces visiting the team during training have been leaked online, including a chilling image of an assault weapon lying on the side of the court. , adding fuel to the fire.
And the Israelis’ ill will towards Ireland stemmed from Basketball Ireland’s refusal to host the game in Dublin, saying they could not guarantee the safety of the Israeli team due to the possibility of protests. Wednesday’s comments made things worse. From Dor Sar, a member of the Israeli team.
“They are [Ireland] They’re pretty anti-Semitic, it’s no secret, so we’re expecting a tough match,” she said.
An hour before the match, Basketball Ireland issued a statement to the International Basketball Federation FIBA regarding “recent comments by Israeli players and coaching staff (anti-Semitic, inflammatory and completely “As a direct result of “containing inaccurate accusations against the public,” the statement said. The official channels of the Israeli federation have informed us that our players will not take part in the traditional pre-match arrangements with their upcoming opponents. ”
“This will include the exchange of gifts and formal handshakes before and after the game, but the players will line up by the benches rather than center court for the Irish national anthem. We fully support.”
Then, as “Amfran na Bufian” echoed through the hall, the Irish players stood on the bench and sang the song to the best of their ability, while the Israeli players belted out the national anthem enthusiastically from the center of the court. Shouted out.
A surreal and gloomy sports contest began, with no handshakes, no high fives, and no gift exchanges.
This was livestreamed by FIBA on its YouTube channel, and perhaps wisely, “chat is disabled for this live stream.” There was no commentary, so all you could hear was the screeching of the trainers on the court and the groans and yells of the players. It felt empty. I think many viewers felt the same way.
Those billboards flashed the words “United, Strong”, which was, of course, the exact opposite of the reaction of the world’s sporting bodies to the events in Gaza. But the world of sport has never shied away from putting its competitors in the worst possible situations, as it did in Riga on Thursday afternoon.
FIBA has promised to investigate these images of the Israeli basketball team with the IDF to see if they are “contrary to our values.” However, they are likely to choose to punish Ireland if it refuses travel to Israel later this year. After all, it will be the root of any behavior contrary to values.
Israel won. Although there were no handshakes or high fives with opponents, they celebrated heartily by dancing, moving and waving flags on the court.
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