The UEFA Nations League match between Ireland and Austria was briefly halted on Thursday after several tennis balls bearing the Palestinian flag were thrown onto the pitch at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
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Ireland were leading 1-0 when the referee stopped the match in the 20th minute, after a group of protesters against the Irish team playing against Israel threw tennis balls from behind the goals onto the field.
The players left the pitch for a short time before resuming play after more than two minutes.
The first half also saw an attempt by a protester, who was wearing a Palestinian flag, to enter the pitch, before security forces intervened and escorted him away.
These protests come amid ongoing controversy within Ireland regarding their national team's matches against Israel, after the UEFA Nations League draw placed the two teams in the same group.
Ireland is among the most prominent European countries that have taken positions critical of Israel in the context of the war in Gaza.
Ireland goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu was absent from the squad for the match that ended with Ireland beating Israel 3-0 in Hungary, after he withdrew the night before the game.
Before that match, the national team players voted twice, and both times the vote ended in favor of playing the match.
In Thursday’s match, Ireland took a two-goal lead through Troy Parrott, who opened the scoring in the 12th minute after a remarkable individual effort, and then added the second goal from a penalty kick towards the end of the first half.
But the Austrian team came back strongly in the second half, with substitutes Alexander Prass and Michael Gregoritsch scoring two goals to level the score, and the match ended 2-2.
The “Stop the Match” campaign issued a statement during halftime, describing the protest as a symbolic and limited action, stressing that its aim was to express solidarity with Bazunu and the Palestinian people.
Ireland is scheduled to host Israel again next Sunday, but the match will be held in Serbia and behind closed doors, after the Football Association of Ireland moved it to the Bačka Topola stadium.
Irish FA members voted last November to urge the board to pressure UEFA to suspend Israel’s participation in European competitions, before the two scheduled matches between the two national teams were approved in July.
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