No handshakes, no high-fives, no gift-exchanging as tension prevails during surreal and sombre basketball international between Ireland and Israel
“We Love Israel” read the electronic advertising boards behind the Irish players as they stood grim-faced courtside in advance of their European Championship qualifying game in a largely deserted venue in Riga, Latvia.
It was never going to pass quietly, but more fuel was poured on the fire when images emerged online of the Israeli Defence Force visiting the team during training, among those images a chilling one of an assault weapon lying at the side of the court. “It’s known that they are quite anti-Semitic, it’s not a secret, so we are expecting an intense game,” she said.
And so, when Amhrán na bhFiann echoed around the hall, the Irish players sang it with as much heart as they could muster as they stood by their bench, the Israeli players bellowing out a lusty rendition of their anthem from the centre of the court. “United and Strong” flashed up on those advertising boards which, of course, has been the very opposite of the world’s sporting bodies’ response to events in Gaza. But the world of sport is never shy about putting its competitors in the very worst of situations, like in Riga on Thursday afternoon.
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