The Taoiseach will have seen, in the last 72 hours, how the FAI has handled the Ireland-Israel game, and how shambolic and shameful that was. We have no doubt that it will be a dark stain on Irish football and a dark stain on our country. They have talked about protecting their players, but they have done everything but. I think it is safe to say that we all know it was handled very poorly. We will discuss that tomorrow at the Oireachtas committee directly with the FAI. We saw the Taoiseach's UN General Assembly address. I must credit him there. His words were very strong, but that now has to be matched with action. I am asking the Taoiseach this, plain and simple. We have seen no statement from the Government throughout this shambolic mess the FAI has put us in. The overall responsibility has been on the players. Can the Taoiseach say to us, the FAI and the players that if they decide not to play the next game against Israel, he will support the FAI and the players? To date, there has been no comment from the Government on the shambolic nature of what we have seen.

There has been comment from the Government. The Government has been very clear, and the Minister for sport has been very clear from day one, that it was a matter for the footballing community and for the FAI, who had to work within the UEFA rules and frameworks. The Government has always been of the position that the Irish soccer team should not be a casualty of this and should not suffer, rather than Israel. The outcome of Ireland not playing, by the way, was that Israel would gain and Ireland would not in the footballing sense. I made the point earlier that the Irish Government has provided about €192 million in total capital and current funding to the FAI, and we are constantly supporting the FAI, for example, with the new League of Ireland academies. That is no more than in other sports and other disciplines, by the way, and in the case of other countries that people have played against, the Government has taken that position.

The Government's overall view is that politically, diplomatically and humanitarianly, it has to take the lead on these issues to try to change Israel's outrageous positions, the assertion of their military supremacy-----

If they do not play, will the Taoiseach support them?

The Taoiseach to conclude.

-----the undermining of the West Bank and so on.

If they do not play, will the Taoiseach support them? It is that simple. Yes or no.

Deputy, order please. Deputy Bacik is next.