Kyra Carusa has condemned the ongoing genocide in Gaza and asserted her solidarity to those suffering in Palestine.
On Sunday, Ireland’s men’s team are due to face Israel in the UEFA Nations League before facing them again a week later. Calls have grown domestically for the match to be boycotted but the FAI insist the matches will go ahead as planned at neutral locations.
This week, Ireland men’s head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson described Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide. This received backlash from the Israeli FA, who, in a highly unusual turn of events posted on X advising Hallgrímsson he was embodying ‘stupidity, idiocy and hypocrisy’. In September 2025, an independent United Nations report concluded that Israel has and continues to commit genocide in Gaza.
The Halfway Line spoke to Ireland international Kyra Carusa following her side’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
‘We stand with Palestine’ declares Kyra Carusa
The Halfway Line asked Carusa for her take on the Ireland vs Israel match going ahead, and for her thoughts on the ongoing situation in Palestine and Gaza. Carusa took a moment before thoughtfully responding on a temperate evening in North London,
“I would say that it’s important that we re-raise what is happening and the fact that what’s happening is genocide [it] cannot happen” Carusa said with a firm resolve. “That is just absolutely something we cannot support and stand behind.
“And I really do stand with Ireland in that sense, that it’s a crime happening and that we have to be able to say: this is not acceptable, and that we have to stand on that.
“I’m not sure what the chats are amongst the federation and with the [men’s] team are. But I know their decision [making process], coming from understanding how our camps function and how we work with the federation.
“[There will be] Lots of conversations and a lot of information coming between both sides and meeting and trying to make a decision that still suits the football, but also respects the fact that, we also understand that we stand with Palestine in that sense.
“I don’t know what those conversations look like, and what that would be if the game goes [ahead], and what you know, what maybe marketing we could put around the stadium, or just donate maybe certain portions of what we get to support the end of this genocide and to [support] Palestine.
“So I would say that knowing the federation and knowing how things function, that there’s a lot of conversations going on around it. But I ultimately want to say that I stand with Ireland in the sense that this is an atrocity and for humans, genocide just cannot be stood for.”
A United Nations Independent report found that since the October 7th attacks which resulted in 1,200 deaths and 250 people taken hostage, over 70,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel.
The latest report notes that 20,000 Palestinian children have been killed and 44,000 have been injured since October 7th.
If you are able to you can donate to help support and provide vital supplies for Palestinian humanitarian efforts on the link below:
Medical Aid for Palestinians | Upholding Health and Dignity
