THE OFFICIAL INSTAGRAM account of Basketball Ireland was removed in error and has now been restored, according to a spokesperson for Meta, the social media site’s parent company. 

Meta said it has been in touch with Basketball Ireland regarding the suspension. 

Yesterday, the sporting body said its account had been “permanently disabled” after it received an automated message to that effect. 

The account was originally taken down last Sunday and Basketball Ireland received confirmation from Meta that it had been disabled on Wednesday. 

Basketball Ireland said yesterday that it had appealed the decision. 

When announcing the closure of its Instagram account, Basketball Ireland had noted the context of the recent controversial Euro qualifier game between the Irish and Israeli women’s teams, but added that no post on the account meritted a suspension. 

The game became a political flashpoint after the Israeli team was photographed with armed soldiers and there were calls for Ireland to boycott the game despite the heavy fines it would have incurred. 

In the buildup to the game, one Israeli player said the Irish players were antisemitic. On the day, the Irish players declined to shake their opponents’ hands.