George Lawlor demands UEFA expel Israel from football
George Lawlor addresses parliament calling for UEFA to expel Israel from international football and for Ireland to cancel the upcoming Nations League fixture in response to the ongoing devastation in Gaza and rising civilian deaths. He says government hesitation is unacceptable and urges immediate moral leadership consistent with Ireland's history on human rights.
What he said: Lawlor accuses the government of hand-wringing and calls on parliamentarians to press UEFA to act with moral clarity. He argues that sport cannot be separated from atrocity and that holding matches would normalise disproportionate violence against civilians.
Why it matters: Lawlor frames the demand as a matter of international law and humanity, citing the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza and the need for Ireland to lead rather than hide behind bureaucracy. He warns that allowing matches to proceed would make football a sanctuary for those who cheer atrocities.
Sport and responsibility: The speaker stresses that UEFA cannot preach respect and fair play while permitting participation by a state engaged in disproportionate violence. He urges Ireland to insist the Nations League fixture involving Israel does not go ahead, not in Dublin, not anywhere.
Historical context and call to action: Lawlor reminds listeners that Ireland has taken moral stands before, referencing opposition to apartheid and past human rights leadership. He concludes that the time for caution is over and the time for action is now, calling on the government to use its voice and influence immediately.
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Minister, hand-wringing is complicity. We as a nation have always prided ourselves on standing on the side of justice, humanity and indeed on the side of international law but today as the world watches the ongoing devastation in Gaza and the mounting civilian death toll 73,000, 75,000 men, women and children we don't fully know. Our government hesitates and that hesitation and this hesitation is absolutely unacceptable. It's time, indeed it's gone the time, for us to show leadership worthy of our values. For us as parliamentarians to show absolute leadership and direction. We must demand that UEFA act with moral clarity and expel Israel from international football. UEFA cannot preach respect, equality and indeed fair play while allowing a state engaged in relentless disproportionate violence against civilians to participate as though nothing is happening. Sport does not exist in a vacuum. Football cannot be a sanctuary for cheerleaders of atrocity. Ireland must not hide behind process or a deep bureaucracy. We must be the country that says what others are afraid to say. We must insist unequivocally that the upcoming Nations League fixture involving Israel does not go ahead, not in Dublin, not anywhere. To go ahead with these matches would be to normalise what is the abnormal and pretend that the suffering of thousands through state-sponsored slaughter can be brushed aside for 90 minutes of football. Our government must use its voice and use its influence. We've done it before, we can do it again. The world remembers when Ireland stood against apartheid. The world remembers when Ireland championed peace and human rights. This is not about politics, it's about humanity. It's about refusing to look away and it's about demanding that UEFA live up to its own principles and it's about Ireland leading both bravely and apologetically when leadership is most needed. The time for caution is finished, it's over. The time for action, it's now, immediately. you
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