FIBA await report before deciding on potential sanctions over Ireland-Israel basketball match

FIBA has said it will wait on a commissioner report before deciding if any disciplinary action will be taken in the wake of Ireland's EuroBasket 2025 Qualifier against Israel on Thursday.

The game was played after a tense and controversial build-up.

Having resisted widespread calls to boycott the fixture, Basketball Ireland were incensed by comments made by Israeli player Dor Sa'ar accusing the Irish of "anti-Semitism". Basketball Ireland branded the accusation "inflammatory and wholly innaccurate".

Israeli coach Sharon Drucker had earlier said the Irish "did not respect" what sport symbolises after he and his players had posed for pictures with armed Israeli soldiers at the weekend.

Ireland refused to partake in the traditional pre-match handshake with their Israeli opponents, who won the match 87-57 in Riga, Latvia.

Basketball Ireland had requested the game take place at a neutral venue. It was initially supposed to be played last November, but was postponed due to security concerns caused by the ongoing conflict in the region.

Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Executive Director Europe of FIBA, Kamil Novak was asked about Israel's decision to have a team photo taken with armed forces.

"I would not like to go into politics," he said. "We are not a political organisation, we are a sporting organisation. In terms of the photos, there were some let's say events before the game which we are aware of.

"The photographs with the machine guns, this is certainly something that can be questioned. On the other hand, we had the EuroBasket Women 2023 in Israel. I'm talking about June 2023 so way before all the incidents which happened later in Israel. Even during this championship we saw some girls with machine guns because they are in