Basketball Ireland says it is “assessing next steps” after being drawn with Israel in a European qualifier.
Ireland are set to face Israel, along with Luxembourg and Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 2027 EuroBasket qualifying in November.
Basketball Ireland says it has spoken to Fiba Europe, European basketball’s governing body, and is “extremely alarmed by the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza” and is awaiting “clarifications on a number of matters”.
It also says it will liaise with players, staff, the Irish government and other stakeholders.
In a statement released on Wednesday, external, Basketball Ireland says it would be fined 80,000 euros if it does not fulfil the fixture on 18 November, and would face an additional 100,000 euro fine if it did not participate in the return fixture.
It says Ireland would also be removed from qualifying and be banned from the 2029 EuroBasket qualifiers.
A 30,000 euro fine would be imposed if Ireland elected to withdraw from qualifying before it starts, but Fiba Europe might impose additional sanctions and has the power to exclude teams from future competitions.
Qualifying is set to take place over two windows in November 2025 and March 2026.
It is not the first time Ireland have been drawn to face Israel since the ongoing conflict in Gaza started in October 2023.
Ireland refused to shake hands with Israel and stood at the side of the court for the national anthems in a 2025 EuroBasket qualifier in February 2024.
When Irish players raised concerns before that qualifier, Israel player Dor Saar said the Ireland team was “quite antisemitic”.
Israel coach Sharon Drucker also said Ireland “did not respect” what the game symbolises, while Basketball Ireland said Saar’s comments were “inflammatory and wholly inaccurate”, and reported the remarks to European basketball’s governing body Fiba Europe.
Ireland were warned by Fiba for their protest, and players stood for the anthems on court and shook hands with Israel’s players in a second EuroBasket qualifier between the sides in Riga in November.
Fiba have been contacted about Basketball Ireland’s statement.
