© Chris Ison/Press AssociationBDS Ireland are staging a protest at a McDonald's in west Belfast.
BDS Ireland is hosting the protest to call on McDonald's to end sponsorship of the IFA unless the organisation cancels its upcoming friendly with Israel at Windsor Park on Tuesday, September 11.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is a global campaign which promotes various boycotts against Israel due to its treatment of Palestine over disputed lands in the West Bank area.
The protest is taking place at the McDonald's in Kennedy Way, west Belfast on Tuesday from 7.30pm-8.30pm.
© Irish Football Association
Over 5,000 people have signed a petition calling on the IFA to cancel the Israel friendly.
Sinn Fein has also called on the IFA to cancel the game in protest against the violence between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza region.
The Northern Ireland Friends of Israel group said attempts to politicise the game were "sad" while the IFA said the game will go ahead, and that for them the fixture is just another football game.
"The IFA holding a 'friendly' match with Israel sends the message that Israel's indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinians is acceptable and gives Israel a green light to continue its crimes, with impunity," a BDS Ireland spokesperson said.
"These Israeli sporting events are part of the Israeli Government's 'sports-washing' propaganda strategy, which exploits sporting events to hide its systemic human rights abuses against Palestinians.
"Palestinian civil society has called for no business as usual with Israel as long as it denies Palestinians their human rights.
"There's nothing friendly about the murder of children."
Reader Comments
Original source quoted as usual. That is perhaps where you should direct your energy.
Original article headline "Protest to be held at Belfast McDonald's over Northern Ireland vs Israel match".
Once you read the article though it makes sense.
But perhaps thy want play the Irish variant: Table Football with a half-pint of Wiskey after each goal ...