The upcoming FIBA EuroBasket Women qualifier between Ireland and Israel has caused considerable controversy, but ex-basketball star Lindsay Peat believes the onus should not be on Irish players to boycott the game.
Ireland are scheduled to face Israel in the natural venue of Riga, Latvia on Thursday afternoon, having lost the first game of the qualifying campaign against France back in November.
Thursday's game was postponed from that same November window due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which was first escalated by the Hamas attacks of October 7.
Since then, Israel has launched a relentless and vicious barrage of military attacks on the Gaza Strip, with the latest estimates suggesting that almost 27,500 Palestinians have been killed since October 7.
The horrific events in Gaza have seen many call for the Irish team to boycott Thursday's game in protest but Lindsay Peat believes it is unfair to expect amateur players to take on that load.
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Lindsay Peat says FIBA should step in amid Ireland v Israel controversy
Peat spoke ahead of her episode of Laochra Gael, which airs on TG4 this Thursday at 9:30pm. A legend of three different sports, Peat won the 2010 All-Ireland football championship as a starting corner-forward with Dublin and went on to win 33 caps for the Irish national rugby team.
15 January 2024; Former Dublin ladies footballer Lindsay Peat attends the launch of TG4's award-winning Laochra Gael series at the Light House Cinema in Dublin as the Gaelic sport biography series returns for another season. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
She is an also a National Cup winner in basketball, so it was only natural that Peat was asked to comment on the controversy surrounding the game this week. Peat gave a thoughtful answer, saying that though the horrific situation in Palestine has led to undeniable and grave concerns, it is unfair for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to have placed the decision of whether or not to boycott on the shoulders of amateur players:
I think it needs to be FIBA making the decision, personally. It’s really hard on amateur players who’ve been out of the game for so long. I think Michael Darragh Macauley put it very well - sometimes things are bigger than sport, and this situation is bigger than sport. It’s up to the hierarchy to take the position out of everyone’s hands and control them.
All I can comment on is in 2010, when we were pulled because no money to stay in competition, we were offered sponsorship and I would say we could have raised money and we weren’t give the opportunity and for 10 years we were in exile.
I do think it is obviously a very sensitive subject, I know some players have pulled themselves and I have huge admiration for them. I think personally it should be FIBA taking this decision out of the hands of a very amateur sporting organisation that has very little funds and that has been out of competition for a long time. We have amateur players and with the horrific situation in Gaza it should be taken out of their hands.
To me, it is greater than sport and it should be FIBA making those decisions. It is a very, very difficult one and it is a hard one to comment on personally because I know there are many different sides to it. There are things in life that are bigger than sport.
The threat of a five-year ban is hard. It has taken Basketball Ireland so long to get their senior teams back in competition.
It is a tough one to comment on because there are sides to that that would be devastating for them but you have to look at what is happening outside of that.
So, for me, it is up to the higher organisation to take away that decision from them and be as supportive as possible.
On Tuesday, photos circulated of the Israeli team welcoming IDF soldiers with firearms into their training camp ahead of the game. Sínn Fein leader Mary McDonald called the photographs 'outrageous'.
Ahead of their clash with Ireland, the Israeli women's basketball team welcomed soldiers to their pre-qualifier training camp and called for the release of hostages held by Hamas. (Pictured are coach and captain with a former player (C)) pic.twitter.com/uhktLHXxmI
— Barry Lennon (@BarryDLennon) February 6, 2024
Outrageous @BballIrl pic.twitter.com/DoMNy7f5k1
— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) February 6, 2024
The consequences would potentially be immense should Ireland choose to boycott their game against Israel.
Basketball Ireland CEO John Feehan spoke earlier this week about the potential for a boycott, and explained that an enormous ban could face the federation should they pull out of the fixture, as well as an "effective 5-year ban" for the women's team.
He praised head coach James Weldon and the squad (five of whom have pulled out in protest), and said that the focus of the Irish team was on Thursday's game:
As we have previously stated, we’re all very concerned about events in Gaza and are extremely sympathetic to dreadful situation that people are having to deal with.
Basketball Ireland is obliged to play this fixture, because the ramifications of not doing so would be ruinous to the women’s international programme, as boycotting these games with Israel would lead to huge fines from FIBA of up to €180,000, along with an effective 5-year ban for the team.
I’d like to praise James Weldon, his staff and the players who’ve had to deal with off-court issues in the lead-up, but remain focused on putting in a performance on Thursday, as they target a win.
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