Players won't be stopped from taking stand - Collins on Israel fixtures

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• Published1 hour ago

Republic of Ireland captain Nathan Collins says no member of the squad will be held back if they wanted to "take a stand" against the team's Nations League fixtures with Israel later this year.

Earlier this year, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed it would fulfil the fixtures, saying there was a real prospect that refusal to play could lead to disciplinary measures, including potential disqualification from the competition.

On Tuesday, there was a protest outside the Dáil (Irish parliament) against the FAI's decision to play the games on 27 September and 4 October.

"What we'd speak about is hard to say, because you need the whole group together. But if individuals wanted to take a stand, we are not going to stand against them, we are not going to hold them back," said Collins, speaking before the Republic of Ireland's friendly with Qatar in Dublin on Thursday.

"They are entitled to their own opinions. If they are very strong about that, we can't stop them."

The Brentford defender added: "For players we just have to trust the FAI.

"We have to trust the government that they know what they're doing. We're picked to play football. You know, we're picked to represent our country.

"It's a tough situation for us to be in and we have to trust the people around us, that they know what they are doing."

Pressure group Irish Sport For Palestine has also called for a boycott, citing what it describes as "clear and ongoing serious breaches of Uefa and Fifa statute regarding Israeli teams playing on occupied Palestinian lands" and "a brutal system of apartheid and genocide, both of which are accepted by the Irish government".

Israel has regularly denied committing genocide or war crimes and has said its actions in Gaza have been justified as a means of self-defence.

The conflict in Gaza followed the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Israel responded to the attack by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 72,500 people have been killed, according to the territory's health ministry.

'I had a lot of ups and downs'

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Collins is set to lead the Republic of Ireland against Qatar on Thursday (19:45 BST) and World Cup co-hosts Canada in Montreal on 6 June (00:30) after a disappointing end to the Premier League season as Brentford narrowly missed out on European qualification.

The 25-year-old started all but six of Brentford's league games, working his way back into Keith Andrews' line-up after briefly falling out of favour.

"Individually I had a lot of ups and downs," he admitted.

"I think at the start of the season I took a lot on. I became club captain and of my country, which I'm proud as anything of and I love it. Probably at the start I took too much on and took it too seriously, and I tried to change too much what I needed to do for the team.

"I felt like the longer the season went on, I found more my role as captain and what I had to be to be a good captain for the team.

"Brentford is a club that's run by the players, so it doesn't need one player to run it all. The longer the season has gone on, I've learned that and I've used the lads around me, and it has probably freed myself up a bit."

Collins also insisted he still feels "enthusiasm" and "excitement" for the Qatar and Canada games despite the Republic of Ireland's heartbreaking World Cup play-off loss to the Czech Republic in March.

"I still get to represent my country," he said.

"I still get to walk out with the green shirt on. I still get to play on an international stage. And I think the longer my career has gone, the more I've learned that you can't take these things for granted.

"They don't happen to everyone and it's so easily slipped out of your hand as well. So I just try to enjoy it, get excited and try to enjoy playing for my country."

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• Irish Football
• Football
• Republic of Ireland Men's Football Team

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