‘I’m not prepared to ruin my sport for actions that have no consequences’ – Irish Times

The stage is set. Ireland play Israel in a EuroBasket qualifier tomorrow in Riga, Latvia, but no amount of outside noise and pressure will change that fact. In the end, Basketball Ireland made the choice. They did it knowing that many people would object to it. And they accept and respect those who disagree. But CEO John Feehan says they had no choice at all.

“What’s happening in Gaza is horrific,” he says. “We all acknowledge that. The question is: ‘Will this have an impact on the Israeli government?’ Frankly, we don’t believe it will bring about change blindly. But it would destroy the women’s international game for the next decade…

“Again, I am quite serious about this, but we have great sympathy for people with what is happening in Gaza. All of our players are the same, whether they are inside Latvia or not. But the reality is, if we make a big gesture, will it blindly make any difference? I don’t think so.” And I’m not prepared to ruin my sport for actions that have no consequences. ”

[ Malachy Clerkin: We know all the reasons for Ireland to play Israel at basketball. We also know it should not happen ]

Their position has been clear for some time. They wrote to the sport’s governing body, Fiba, requesting that the match be postponed for safety reasons. Fiba rejected this request. According to tournament rules, Ireland face a fine of up to 180,000 euros and a five-year ban from international competition if they refuse to play. For Feehan, a putative ban is far worse than a fine.

“Money is very important. It’s very harmful to us,” he says. “We’re not a wealthy organization. But the really, really big problem for us would be to effectively eliminate a generation of players. We’re going to be essentially out of competition for the next five years, but that’s acceptable. Can not.

“The other factor is that not only are we going to be out of competition for the next five years, but it’s probably going to take another five years to get back to where we are now. So we’re essentially losing a generation of players. Children will lose role models in the process of learning basketball. There will be nowhere to go. It will be like a body without a head.”

The other side of the story, of course, is that Israel is using this game as propaganda. Members of the Israel Defense Forces visited Ireland’s opponents in the run-up to the match, and images of soldiers standing on the hard court in fatigues and assault weapons strapped to them were widely circulated. This isn’t the biggest thing in world sport, but it’s also a small thing.

And in the middle of it all, Ireland coach James Weldon is doing his best to prepare his team. He doesn’t have enough regulars. Some of them are injured, and five others have simply decided not to play. For safety reasons, the match will be played without spectators. Whatever happens, it will be a surreal experience.

“We’re trying to stay normal and prepare like we normally do in international matches. Of course it’s all happening in the background, we understand that. But I I’m just trying to stay focused and prepare for a difficult game,” Wheldon said.

“I don’t want to go into individual reasons. Some players are injured, some are learning, some have made personal choices. I’m very proud of this group. The thing is that even though they are very young players, they communicate very well with each other. There is a lot of respect for the players who are here, even by the players who are not here. and vice versa.”

Normally, there would have been some interaction between the two sides before a game like this. FIBA generally tends to play opposing teams in the same hotel, even if it’s just for convenience. That didn’t happen this time. At an official level, Feehan described the deal between the two federations as “administrative”.

Meanwhile, Israeli coach Sharon Drucker said while visiting IDF soldiers at a training session: There is so much I want to say, but I would rather not speak and let the national team focus on basketball. But sport should be an integral part of what it stands for, and Ireland did not accept that. ”

This pretty much sums up Ireland’s predicament here – getting criticized at home for playing, getting criticized in Israel for considering not playing. All they can do now is hope they get through this and move on.

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