Liam Scales has endured a difficult few weeks. In back-to-back defeats to bitter rivals Rangers, the defender failed to distinguish himself much for Celtic. To some supporters his presence is a symbol of the Parkhead board’s lack of ambition for the team and defeat to Ferencvaros in the Europa League did nothing to alter that view.
International football offered no respite. Selected as a left wing-back for Ireland’s Nations League game in Kosovo, the 28-year-old played in the losing team for the fourth game in a row then found himself at the centre of a storm which, this time at least, could not be laid at his door.
Before voting to play the 3-0 win over Israel in the Nations League, Ireland players were placed in an invidious situation by UEFA, their own national association and a toxic, febrile public debate.
Israel’s participation in European competitions has always been a geographical anomaly. Given the last three years in Gaza, much of Ireland now regards it as an affront.
In the lead-up to two Nations League fixtures in eight days against the Jewish state, a fevered debate engulfed the Republic over the rights and wrongs of the games going ahead, ramping up the pressure on officials and players. Sunday’s ‘home’ tie at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin has been moved to the remote venue of Backa Topola in Serbia to avoid the protests spilling over and the issue has became a test of moral purity.
Irish Taoiseach Michael Martin has accused the Israelis of genocide by killing tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime say the genocide accusations - supported by an independent international UN commission - are a ‘lie’ and that their actions in Gaza constitute the right to self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter following the Hamas attacks on October 7 2023.
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The Irish people feel a historical identification with the Palestinians, which stems from a perceived parallel with British colonialism.
In 2024, Israel closed its embassy in Dublin when Ireland - along with Spain and Norway - recognised the Palestinian state, framing the move through the prism of seeking self determination.
More recently radio station Classic Hits Radio banned Ed Sheeran from its playlist ‘for the foreseeable future’ over the musician’s removal of pro-Palestinian rapper Macklemore from his US tour. Sinn Fein senator Chris Andrews has also criticised the Irish Wheelchair Association for accepting an invitation to play Israel in a women’s European Championship qualifier next month.
Supporters of various Irish football clubs have staged demonstrations against their national football team taking any part in the Israel games, while 160 athletes signed an open letter by the Irish Sport for Palestine group calling for a boycott of the fixtures as part of a ‘Stop The Game’ campaign.
Ireland’s Icelandic coach Heimar Hallgrimsson tried to offset criticism of the FAI’s decision to play Sunday’s game by saying said that his team were “not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide". The Israel FA responded by accusing Hallgrimsson of "ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity".
The pre-match pressure eventually reached a point where goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu made himself unavailable for selection on Saturday on the grounds of Israel’s bombardment of civilian Palestinians.
“There are few times when you get a chance in life to stand for something bigger and I strongly believe that this is one of them,” said Bazunu in a statement.
The move forced team-mates to consider their own positions. None more so, you suspect, than Celtic defender Scales.
When Bazunu returns to club football, his actions will barely cause a ripple with supporters of Bolton Wanderers.
For Scales, the issue was tantamount to a live hand grenade. When Hamas staged a massacre of innocents at a music festival in October 2023, Celtic’s Green Brigade ultras held aloft a banner calling for ‘victory to the resistance’ in Palestine.
In October 2025, the Green Brigade then targeted UEFA with a banner before a Europa League game against Braga accusing the governing body of being “complicit in genocide by normalising Israel. Kick them out now”.
For supporters who rarely need much of a reason to find fault with the central defender at the best of times, an appearance against Israel would have drawn significant blow back. For some, the fact he was there at all still might.
Placed in a difficult position, Ireland players engaged in hours of angst and debate and deliberation before staging a vote and deciding play the game. While FAI CEO David Courell said the poll returned a ‘significant majority’ in favour of going ahead, reports in the Irish media said that Scales was one of eight players who expressed support for Bazunu.
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An unused substitute, the Celtic defender failed to play in the end. And, given the reaction his appearance would have aroused in Glasgow and Dublin, the technical area probably felt like a place of sanctuary.
Those who did play in green and white made their own statement on Israel’s actions by declining to shake hands with their opponents either before or after the game and bowing their heads during the playing of the opposition national anthem. The traditional exchange of pre-match pennants failed to take place and players wore black armbands. Cardiff’s Jack Moyland whipped off his armband, raised it in the air and kissed it after scoring the third goal in an impressive first-half demolition of the Israelis.
None of this seems likely to persuade Benjamin Netanyahu that a ceasefire is the way to go. Or satisfy those who think that the Ireland players should reach a decision to forfeit the return game in Serbia and accept the punishment of a 3-0 defeat from UEFA. For players kicked around like political footballs, the return game brings the certainty of more grief ahead.
Interviewing Killian Phillips last year, the St Mirren midfielder discussed his pride at playing for Ireland. After his debut against Senegal, he sought out his mother Cora in the stand of the Aviva Stadium to thank her for all the years of standing in the rain on football touchlines and driving him up and down the country to get to games on a Sunday morning.
The sacrifice was never about taking a stance on global politics or coming under pressure from UEFA, the FAI, agents, clubs and fans to decide on whether it’s right to play a game Israel or not.
In an age of social media, professional footballers are now harangued into taking the knee or wearing a rainbow armband or bowing their heads for a national anthem in a quest to place themselves on the ‘right side of history.’
When it comes to human rights, decisions on that scale reside with politicians and administrators elected to deal with this stuff. Players are not only easy targets; they are also the wrong targets.
