Game, net and match - return of tennis to Dublin 4 makes a bit of a racket
Protestors didn’t seem bothered by Qatar’s human rights record
The protestors made their point - or points given tennis balls were their weapons of choice - as ball throwing made its return to the Aviva Stadium for the first time in seven years and did something to brighten up an otherwise dull end of season, start of summer friendly.
‘Stop The Game’ was the catalyst as those tennis balls rained down on the South Stand end of the pitch in both the 10th and 20th minutes of an otherwise forgettable night of international football in Dublin 4.
That’s ‘Stop The Game against Israel’ just in case you have been basking in the sunshine on a remote island off the West Coast for the last week or so as Irish players became political pawns in the eyes of the media and Seamus Coleman found himself with no choice but to criticise how the bumbling FAI have handled the whole Israeli crisis, how they have thrown the players into the firing line.
Last night the players were again in the line of fire as those tennis balls, draped in the colours of the Palestine national flag, descended on them and brought attention to the cause - or made their point in other words.
They also triggered a question or two as the protestors were ejected from the ground and a Stop The Game flag was removed from the West Stand, as captured by the RTE cameras and broadcast during the half-time analysis.
Why was it just the Israeli game that was the inspiration for the first tennis ball protest since fans demanded the sacking of the FAI Board way back in 2019 as the proverbial hit the fan?
Why did nobody bat an eyelid about the presence of Qatar in Dublin yet again for a friendly, the nation with a human rights record that is deplorable?
The answer of course is that Qatar aren’t engaging in genocide right now and their sins were barely worth considering never mind worthy of a protest.
Instead, the Board of the FAI and those who lead the organisation internally were given another reminder that public ire towards those Israel games is growing by the day.
Even Ministers Patrick O’Donovan and Charlie McConalogue confirmed this week that they won’t be going to any match against Israel at the Aviva - despite the FAI claiming they have the full support of the Government to press ahead with a Dublin fixture.
And the FAI suits are clearly losing support for their stance that the home game must be played in Dublin in October. Yes, it must be played under UEFA rules but who says that it has to be played in Ireland, never mind Dublin.
That’s a question that will be raised again in the coming days when the FAI will be hit with a demand for an EGM to discuss this matter from members of the General Assembly.
And they really need to start considering new answers now that the brief tennis season in Ballsbridge is over.
There were other questions raised too last night. Why didn’t we see more substitutions from the Ireland bench - what was the point in Seamus Coleman, Caoimhin Kelleher, Nathan Collins, Jayson Molumby and Troy Parrott playing for as long as they did for example when Mason Melia was barely involved as a late substitute and Killian Phillips, Alex Murphy, Joe Hodge, Adam Brennan, Ed McGinty and Conor Brann were all left on the bench?
Why was Jack Moylan sent-off for a tackle that looked more awkward and mis-timed than malicious?
And the hardest question of all - how can a side as limited as Qatar be going to the World Cup and we will be watching from afar after being 2-0 up in the play-offs away to Czechia?
I know they operate in a different qualifying zone by the way!
But just four years after FIFA ignored the aforementioned Qatari human rights violations and awarded them the World Cup finals, there is little to suggest they will make any impression in America this summer.
And it’s a good job their forwards weren’t asked to throw the tennis balls. They’d have missed the pitch and the game would have carried on in total ignorance of any protest!