Basketball Ireland’s official Instagram account has been disabled, which it has linked to the women’s team’s controversial clash with Israel.
In a statement, Basketball Ireland announced it had lost access to the account on February 11th and was told by Meta the account was permanently disabled on February 14th.
Basketball Ireland said it will appeal the decision as “as there is no legitimate reason to do so by Meta”.
“Our social media pages are there to showcase our international and domestic game, from elite to grassroots level,” it said.
The national women’s basketball team was the centre of controversy earlier this month following calls to boycott its match against Israel in the Women's EuroBasket 2025 qualifier.
Five players had said they will refuse to play, according to The Irish Times, but the match went ahead as planned in Latvia on February 8th.
Following accusations of anti-Semitism by Israeli basketball player Dor Saar, the Irish team refused to shake hands with the Israeli team.
Ireland lost the game to Israel by 87 to 57.
The Ireland team stand by their bench before the Women's EuroBasket Championship Qualifier match between Israel and Ireland at the Rimi Olympic Centre in Riga, Latvia, 08/02/2024. Image: Oksana Dzadan/SportsfileBasketball Ireland acknowledged the controversy surrounding the match with Israel in its statement.
“However, nothing that has been posted on our social media channels during this time, before, or since, merits this decision by Meta,” it said.
“Basketball Ireland has raised this matter with Government and Sport Ireland.
“Basketball Ireland shall continue to showcase Irish basketball via our other social media channels.”
The organisation has previously said accusations by the Israeli team of anti-Semitism is “inflammatory and wholly inaccurate”.
It also noted that boycotting the game against Israel would have resulted in hefty fines for Basketball Ireland and “a decade in the wilderness” for women’s basketball.
Meta has been contacted for comment.
