In a devastating humiliation for the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), the Palestine Football Association (PFA) has said it never issued any statement backing the FAI’s decision to proceed with Ireland’s match against so-called ‘Israel’. This is despite the Irish football chiefs putting out a statement last week clearly intended to indicate the opposite. Sinn Féin TD Joanna Byrne described the FAI’s move as an “unforgivable cynical act of deception”. Byrne continued: What this clarification lays bare is a contemptible sleight of hand by the FAI – a sleight of hand that will be met by resistance by the football community…