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Basketball Ireland says it is “assessing next steps” after being drawn with Israel in a European qualifier. <\/b><\/p>\n
Ireland are set to face Israel, along with Luxembourg and Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 2027 EuroBasket qualifying in November.<\/p>\n
Basketball Ireland says it has spoken to Fiba Europe, European basketball’s governing body, and is “extremely alarmed by the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza” and is awaiting “clarifications on a number of matters”.<\/p>\n
It also says it will liaise with players, staff, the Irish government and other stakeholders. <\/p>\n
In a statement released on Wednesday, external<\/span><\/a>, Basketball Ireland says it would be fined 80,000 euros if it does not fulfil the fixture on 18 November, and would face an additional 100,000 euro fine if it did not participate in the return fixture.<\/p>\n It says Ireland would also be removed from qualifying and be banned from the 2029 EuroBasket qualifiers.<\/p>\n A 30,000 euro fine would be imposed if Ireland elected to withdraw from qualifying before it starts, but Fiba Europe might impose additional sanctions and has the power to exclude teams from future competitions.<\/p>\n Qualifying is set to take place over two windows in November 2025 and March 2026.<\/p>\n It is not the first time Ireland have been drawn to face Israel since the ongoing conflict in Gaza started in October 2023. <\/p>\n