James McClean urges Ireland players to boycott Israel or risk being on 'wrong side of history'

​The proud 103-capped Ireland international questioned the morals of the Ireland players, including Irish skipper Dara O'Shea, after his comments about staying off social media and being put in a 'difficult' and 'unusual' position.

The 37 year-old Creggan man, who was vilified for his refusal to wear a poppy on Remembrance Day throughout his 15 year career in England, claims Irish players 'still have the chance to do the right thing' and refuse to play against the Israelis in Debrecen, Hungary on Sunday and in the 'home' fixture to be played in Serbia on October 4th.

McClean has been 'angered' at the FAI's decision to fulfil the fixtures due to the risk of sporting sanctions and felt Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson should have 'doubled down' on his comments about 'playing against genocide' which led to provocation from the Israel FA.

Derry City winger McClean is the latest high profile personality to call for a boycott of the games alongside Bohemians' Director of Football Pat Fenlon and ex-Ireland boss Brian Kerr as the public backlash intensifies.

More than 160 Irish sportspeople signed an open letter calling on the Ireland players to collectively refuse to play.

McClean stressed it's not too late for collective action from the Irish players, insisting two caps for their country 'won't define their careers'.

His message to the players is uncompromising: "You play the game and history will always remember you as spineless; as the ones who played the game.

"If you don't play the game, you've the backing of a full nation and probably beyond the nation. You are either going to stand on the right side or the wrong side of history. Until that first whistle goes you still have that opportunity to do the right thing."

He points to his refusal to wear a poppy as evidence that he has previously accepted personal and professional consequences for taking a stand and insists his argument is not about publicity, applause or self-promotion.

"This is not about 'look at me' and getting a pat on the back. I've had to endure a lot of horrible things off the back of that. At times it hasn't been easy but when I go to bed at night, I can hold my head high. I did what was right. Trust me, it wasn't for my own best interests but it was the right thing to do.

“I obviously wouldn’t play the game,” he insisted. “People might say it’s easy for me to say that when I’m not involved, but I think I can back up my claims.

“I did the right thing by not wearing the poppy, which I know for a fact has affected probably better opportunities for me throughout my career because people don’t want the hassle that comes with that,” he said. “At the end of the day, right is right and wrong is wrong.

"You have an opportunity here to stand on the right side of history and unfortunately, these lads are going to go ahead with the game. They're forever going to be tarred for not doing the right thing.

"I think every single one of them will be to blame. I think it's easy to say 'FIFA or UEFA is making us do it.' I've seen some of the interviews saying we're uncomfortable with it and 'it's not been easy for us'. Well then, don't play the game!

"I saw Dara O'Shea giving an interview and saying 'we've been staying off social media'. You've been staying off social media because you feel guilty and you see the backlash and you know it's wrong.

"This might come as a shock to a lot of people but footballers, now more so than ever, don't have morals. They're afraid to be criticised and more importantly for them they're wondering: does it affect my image? does it affect my pay packet? does it affect opportunities?”

"If so then we're going to turn a blind eye. I've shared many dressing rooms with players and they'll sit there and they'll complain and give off about how things are wrong but when push comes to shove, they just accept shortcomings.

“What’s one game?” he asked. “There are four games in this window. You play Israel twice. There are two caps. Sorry, it’s two caps. It won’t define your career.”

He argues that most of the squad are established internationals and would not see their Ireland careers suffer if they collectively refused to participate.

“They’re going to get called up again. And if it’s a collective, then problem sorted.”

McClean said Ireland, given its own history of conflict, occupation and resistance, should be particularly sensitive to what is happening to Palestinians.

“If there’s one country throughout history that can relate to what’s going on over there then it’s Ireland,” he said. “And I think that’s why it’s angered not just myself but so many other people as well.

"It annoys me and it angers me because, forget everything else, the killing of innocent children, men and women is wrong to begin with. It's been called a war but it's not a war. The Palestinians don't have arms, they don't have anything but Israel does. Israel is basically wiping out a population and getting away with it." The former international says the worst possible sporting consequences - points, fines or disciplinary action - pale beside the moral question facing the players. “So what?” he said. “If you have children, have a look at your children and think, what if it were my children? Surely that should be enough for you to think, ‘Yeah, what I’m doing here is wrong'. If you’re uncomfortable, don’t play."

McClean's savage criticism does not stop with the players. Ideally, he reckons it would be better if the governing bodies took the decision out of the players' hands, but he's angered by the FAI's actions.

“Israel are basically intimidating the FAI and they’re just accepting it,” he said. “It’s ridiculous. These players are accepting it as well.” McClean sees the decision to surrender home advantage and play behind closed doors in neutral territory as another sign of capitulation. “What was once a proud nation that has a long-standing history of fighting against wrong, to give up home support, home advantage and having fans there, to play in a neutral country behind closed doors - talk about wilting. Talk about surrendering.

“Unfortunately those days are well and truly gone and this generation just doesn’t have the backbone, the conviction or morals that this country used to have.”

The outspoken Derry man also criticised Ireland manager Hallgrímsson after the Icelandic coach caused a diplomatic storm by saying: “We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel; we’re not playing with Israel.”

The Israeli Football Association subsequently attacked Hallgrímsson, accusing him of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy”. The Ireland boss has since said it was “not clever” for the controversy to take attention away from Ireland's Nations League opener against Kosovo, while expressing gratitude for the support he received.

McClean believes the manager should not have softened his stance.

“That’s clearly how he feels because he wouldn’t have said it otherwise then stand by it,” he said. “Don’t take a knee and more or less apologise. Double down. Stand by it.”

The Derry winger also compared the situation to Irish musicians who, he argues, have demonstrated that taking a stand can carry real professional consequences.

He referred to Macklemore who was removed from Ed Sheeran's tour, for his view on Israel and the Irish performers who withdrew their involvement as a result. “A lot of Irish singers were on that,” he said. “Aaron Rowe and the likes who were just starting out in their career and could’ve benefitted with being on a show like that and all the publicity that comes with it. “If they can pull out and the Ireland players can’t, surely even that – even look at that and ask yourself, what am I doing here?” “It’s impossible to keep politics out of sport,” he added. “Politics is brought into sport and people pick and choose what politics they bring into sport.

"Unfortunately, that’s the case. But whenever that’s the case, you still have a choice to do whatever’s right or wrong. Until the first whistle, you can still do the right thing," he stressed.