Amid the storm surrounding the Ireland-Israel football fixtures, it’s worth asking: what has actually been achieved, and what has been lost?

Months before the two teams were paired in the Nations League, the FAI called on Uefa to suspend Israel from the competition. Its position was clear: Israel should not be allowed to participate in international football. No other football association joined Ireland’s bid, and the attempt to have Israel excluded failed.

It was hard to miss the irony when Ireland and Israel were then drawn to face each other. What followed was a relentless campaign for the Irish team to boycott the fixtures, dominating headlines and media discussion for weeks. Individual players were pressed to declare their stance and subjected to what can only be described as an ideological purity test.

In the end, despite all the uproar, the matches are being played. The inconsistency was stark: Ireland, it seems, will readily demand action from others on the international stage, but stop short of following through itself if doing so comes at a cost.

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But beyond exposing this hypocrisy, the controversy swept away almost everything that might have made Ireland’s home leg more valuable than just another........

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