Wheelchair basketball team plans Israel match gesture

Members of the Irish women's wheelchair basketball team plan to bow their heads during the national anthem and wear black armbands as they face Israel in the qualifiers for the Women's B division European Championship.

Their game against Israel is scheduled for Wednesday 14 October.

The team will take similar action to that taken by Republic of Ireland football players during their two UEFA Nations League games against Israel.

The decision to go ahead with the match has been criticised by groups including Irish Sport for Palestine and Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine who have called on the Irish team to cancel and boycott the game.

Sinn Féin Senator Chris Andrews also raised the issue in the Seanad last month, saying that the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) was a national charity which received significant national funding.

He said at the time: "This issue should not receive less scrutiny because it is a wheelchair basketball team, rather than a football team. Disability sport should not be patronised and held to a different standard."

In a statement, the IWA said it was the responsibility of its board for making the final decision to play.

However, it said: "Player consultation has been and remains an important and integral part of consideration for this decision."

The statement added: "This decision was not taken lightly. We agree that disability sport should be held to the same standards of accountability and scrutiny as any other sport.

"IWA-Sport has never sought different treatment in this regard. We believe that athletes with disabilities deserve the same opportunities, respect and recognition as all other athletes."

It is unclear whether the team will face sanctions from the competition organisers, the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation, for staging the protest.

The team has already begun travelling ahead of the competition, which begins tomorrow in Nottwil, Switzerland and concludes on Sunday.

The team's first match is on Tuesday against the Women of Europe and their final match will be against Turkey on Thursday.

These matches will then determine whether the team progresses to the semi-final.

As well as eight female amateur wheelchair basketball players and two minors, five volunteers will travel with the team to provide support in coaching, management and safeguarding capacities.

The IWA has also answered criticisms made by Senator Andrews over its online fundraising pages, which did not initially mention a scheduled match against Israel.

The association said this concern was raised with them on 14 August and that this feedback was taken on board with a list of the four teams playing being added by the 18 August.

The IWA says such fundraising pages are "created to enable friends, family and supporters within the teams’ network to contribute towards the costs incurred by teams competing at international competitions".

"As funding does not cover the full costs of participation, teams often undertake their own fundraising to meet the shortfall."

The statement continued: "It wouldn’t be unusual for the teams’ fixtures not to be included on these pages as the focus is on the fundraising purpose rather than the individual matches being played.

"In this case, the purpose was to cover the teams’ costs. There was no intention to mislead donors or withhold information about the participating teams."