NO Ireland fans will be able to attend the upcoming Nations League games against Israel, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has confirmed.
Israel meanwhile will admit a 'small' number of its own fans for its home fixture, said the FAI.
Ireland has faced calls to boycott the games over Israel's continued attacks on Gaza, With the UN saying Israeli forces killed more than two dozen people in Gaza at the weekend despite ongoing ceasefire agreements.
Ireland Palestine Solidarity campaign (IPSC) said the latest update from the FAI was 'yet another acknowledgement that there is something wrong about these fixtures'.
'Safety and security concerns'
Ireland are scheduled to play their away game against Israel on September 27, with the game set for the Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary.
Since October 2023, UEFA has not permitted games to be played in Israel due to safety and security concerns.
The FAI has consistently said it would fulfil the fixtures, despite calls for a boycott, and said in February that it was confident the home game would go ahead in Dublin on October 4.
However, it revealed in June that the match would be played behind closed doors in a neutral venue, subsequently confirmed as the TSC Arena in Bačka Topola, Serbia.
In its latest statement, the FAI confirmed Ireland fans would not be able to attend either fixture.
"The Football Association of Ireland confirms that it will not facilitate in-stadium access to Ireland supporters for either of its 2026-27 UEFA Nations League fixtures with Israel," it said.
"The Association appreciates the passion and commitment that Ireland supporters always show when following its teams around the world, but operational challenges and safety and security concerns led to this decision being made.
"The Israel Football Association have confirmed that a small allocation of its own supporters will be accommodated for their home game in Debrecen, Hungary on Sunday, September 27.
"The second game in Group B3 between the teams will take place in Bačka Topola, Serbia on Sunday, October 4.
"This will be played behind closed doors."
'They should not be playing these games'
Several high-profile figures, including former Ireland manager Brian Kerr, have backed the Stop the Game campaign, launched by the organisation Irish Sport for Palestine.
It urged the FAI to boycott the fixtures over Israel's attacks on Gaza and the failure of football's governing bodies to sanction Israel for having clubs based in illegal settlements.
The campaign has also been backed by IPSC, which blasted the latest statement from the FAI.
"The FAI has confirmed that no tickets will be sold to Irish fans for the Nations League games against apartheid Israel," it posted on social media.
"[This is] yet another acknowledgement that there is something wrong about these fixtures.
"If they can't play our home game here and they can't play in front of the Irish fans, they should not be playing these games.
"The FAI should not cross the Palestinian picket line here or anywhere. It must boycott these games."
On Monday, the UN said Israeli airstrikes, shelling and shooting killed more than 25 people in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, despite ongoing ceasefire agreements, and that an Israeli attack near a Gaza hospital on Saturday destroyed critical medical supplies.
It added that an intensifying pattern of settler violence in the occupied West Bank meant that July stands alongside March this year as the deadliest month for Palestinians in settler attacks since the war erupted in October 2023.
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