Tennis balls carrying Palestinian flags halt Ireland’s Nations League draw with Austria

Ireland’s 2-2 draw with Austria in the Nations League was briefly stopped after protesters threw tennis balls bearing the Palestinian flag on to the pitch at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Ireland were leading 1-0 in front of a full house when referee halted the match in the 20th minute. A small number of tennis balls had been thrown from behind both goals, prompting players to leave the field for a short cooling break.

According to Reuters, the game resumed just over two minutes later.

Later in the first half, a man wrapped in a Palestinian flag attempted to enter the pitch. Security staff intervened and escorted him away.

Ireland is among the European countries most critical of Israel over its war in Gaza. Protests calling for Ireland to boycott matches against Israel have been continuing since February, when the Nations League draw placed the two teams in the same group.

Ireland goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew from the squad on the eve of Sunday’s 3-0 away victory against Israel, a match played in Hungary.

The players voted twice on Saturday over whether to fulfil the fixture, with a majority choosing to play on both occasions.

No further incidents took place during Thursday’s match. The “Stop the Match” campaign issued a statement at half-time, saying: “The protest is now over.”

It added: “This was a symbolic action, deliberately limited, but necessary, carried out in solidarity with Gavin Bazunu and the Palestinian people facing genocide.”

Troy Parrott put Ireland ahead after 12 minutes with an outstanding solo goal. He went past three Austria defenders, sending the ball between the legs of one of them, before entering the penalty area and finding the far corner with a low finish.

Parrott doubled Ireland’s advantage from the penalty spot shortly before half-time. However, the hosts were unable to hold on to their two-goal lead after the interval as substitutes Alexander Prass and Michael Gregoritsch scored for Austria.

Bazunu was among the substitutes on Thursday but will not feature in Ireland’s next home fixture against Israel on Sunday.

That match has been moved by the Football Association of Ireland to Serbia and will be played behind closed doors in Backa Topola.

In November, members of the Football Association of Ireland voted to ask its board to seek a suspension of Israel from European competitions through UEFA.

However, a proposal to proceed with the two scheduled matches against Israel was passed at a meeting held in July.