“Quite anti-Semitic,” said Israel basketball player Dor Saar about the Ireland women’s team after the latter refused to shake hands with the Israeli team before the EuroBasket 2025 qualifier in Riga.
In reply, Basketball Ireland said that the comments were “inflammatory and wholly inaccurate”.
In a statement before the start of the match, Basketball Ireland, in a statement, said that they would not be participating in “traditional pre-match arrangements”.
For their anthem, Ireland players, rather than standing at the centre of the court, chose to line up beside its team bench. The match, however, was won by Israel 87-57.
Before the game, Israel coach Sharon Drucker said Ireland “did not respect” what the game symbolises as they expressed concern about playing.
Saar’s comments were reported to European basketball’s governing body Fiba Europe by Basketball Ireland.
Earlier in the week, Basketball Ireland chief executive John Feehan said the team would face heavy fines and expulsion if they abandoned their fixtures with Israel.
He suggested a boycott would “destroy our women’s international game for the next 10 years”.
Basketball Ireland’s statement before the start of the game read: “Basketball Ireland informed Fiba Europe yesterday that as a direct result of recent comments made by Israeli players and coaching staff – including inflammatory and wholly inaccurate accusations of anti-Semitism, published on official Israeli Federation channels – that our players will not be partaking in traditional pre-match arrangements with our upcoming opponents.
“This includes exchanging of gifts, formal handshakes before or after the game, while our players will line up for the Irish national anthem by our bench rather than centre court.
“Basketball Ireland fully supports our players in their decision.”
In an interview on the Israeli Basketball Association’s website, United States-based student Saar said: “It’s known that they are quite anti-semitic and it’s no secret, and maybe that’s why a strong game is expected.
“We have to show that we’re better than them and win. We talk about it among ourselves. We know they don’t love us and we will leave everything on the field always and in this game especially.”
About Author
Leave a Reply