While they definitely lost to the USA in the round of thirty two knock out stage, they are not losers. That is a crown touched by Midas and which sits plum on the malodorous head of the Football Association of Ireland.
Since they first arrived on the other side of the Atlantic for the tournament the fans of Bosnia and Herzegovina took to the streets of Toronto in their thousands to bang drums and chant Palestina. When they arrived in Seattle for the match against Qatar, they crowded into the stadium waving their Palestinian flags and chanting Free Palestine. They did likewise for their clash with the USA in Santa Clara. As New Arab reported:
Since they first arrived on the other side of the Atlantic for the tournament the fans of Bosnia and Herzegovina took to the streets of Toronto in their thousands to bang drums and chant Palestina. When they arrived in Seattle for the match against Qatar, they crowded into the stadium waving their Palestinian flags and chanting Free Palestine. They did likewise for their clash with the USA in Santa Clara. As New Arab reported:
Despite their early departure, Bosnian fans’ consistent displays of solidarity with Palestine will be remembered as one of the highlights of the World Cup.
Lejla Turcilo, a professor at the University of Sarajevo’s Department of Communication said:
We very well know how important it is for a nation that is suffering to have someone who will keep mentioning it worldwide.
And what does the FAI mention worldwide? That Israel despite its genocide in Gaza is a worthy opponent rather than a leprous state that should be forced to ring a bell to warn of its approach towards civilisation rather than tolling a bell for the Palestinians it is murdering in Gaza and the West Bank on a daily basis.
The words of the professor should shame the FAI:
Bosnians (and Bosniaks especially) know very well how it feels to be exposed to genocide and how it feels to fight not only aggressors, but also to fight for justice and the right to be heard and supported globally. In that context, we stand for Palestine maybe even more than others. We have been in the same shoes, and it is our obligation to let Palestinian people know that we feel them and understand them.
Given the history of Ireland's trauma at the hands of the British you would imagine that the FAI would get this and and back her call for the Palestinian cause to be heard and supported globally. But the FAI choose to ignore it and instead promote on a global stage the legitimacy of the genocidal regime and the most war-like state on the planet.
Saleem Al-Ashqar played soccer. He was goalkeeper of the Khadamat Khan Younis club in the South of Gaza. Last Wednesday the Israelis murdered him. What made him a target? He was cycling to refill a gas cylinder for his family when an Israeli panzer rained heavy artillery down on him. Married just five months ago, his widow is expecting their first child.
Since Israel launched its genocidal project in 2003, it has butchered 1,009 sportspeople, 567 of whom are footballers.
This seems not to count in the minds of the FAI who believe getting six points is more important that showing solidarity with 567 murdered soccer players.
Last week, the US Presbyterian Church voted to recognize Israeli actions in Gaza as genocide. Its spokesperson said:
The General Assembly, which reflects this diversity, spoke in a unified voice against genocide and for measures that will hopefully contribute to the liberation of Palestine.
The Church voted unanimously to disinvest from Palantir and GE Aerospace. The first helps the IDF target Palestinians while the second profits from making engines for fighter jets and helicopters for use by the Israeli military.
The combined action of the US Presbyterians and the Bosnia and Herzegovina supporters puts the FAI to shame.
Next Wednesday an extraordinary general meeting of the FAI will take place. The Board disgracefully is asking the members to endorse the decision to play the games at so called neutral venues. But as Raymond Deane pointed out in a recent letter to the Irish Times, Serbia's foreign minister described Israel as one of its closest friends and key strategic partners, and that under the recently ousted Viktor Orban, Hungary was the most unconditional pro-EU member. The FAI might as well play the matches in Israel.
This is a farce. The FAI really need to stop playing games with its membership and the wider public. It can either stop the game or continue with its rebranding as the Farce Association of Ireland.
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