Ireland vs Austria twice halted at Aviva as protesters hurl Palestine tennis balls onto pitch

Ireland’s Nations League clash with Austria at the Aviva Stadium was disrupted twice by pro-Palestine demonstrators on Tuesday night, with supporters hurling tennis balls bearing the Palestine flag onto the pitch to force stoppages in the 20th and 36th minutes.

The first interruption lasted a couple of minutes as stewards cleared the playing surface of numerous tennis balls that had been lobbed from the stands. A second halt came when a supporter attempted to invade the pitch before being quickly apprehended by security.

The protests are part of the Stop the Game campaign, which has been calling on the Football Association of Ireland to boycott the Republic’s Nations League fixtures against Israel during this international break. Demonstrators gathered outside the Aviva Stadium before kick-off to voice their opposition.

The tension surrounding the fixture has been building since last weekend’s first meeting with Israel, which went ahead after a turbulent few days within the squad. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew from the Ireland camp ahead of that game, publicly expressing his unease over the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Despite Tuesday’s disruptions and the strength of feeling among a significant section of supporters, Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson confirmed the squad intends to fulfil next Sunday’s return fixture against Israel, which is scheduled to be played in Serbia.

“The FAI has said we are playing both games. That was our intention when we came into the camp and it is still our intention,” Hallgrímsson said. “We are trying to focus on the football. It is already decided we will fulfil the games.”

It is the second successive occasion that tennis balls have been used as a form of protest at the Aviva Stadium, following a similar incident during a friendly against Qatar in June.

On the pitch, Ireland took control of the match with Troy Parrott scoring twice in the first half to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.