The Taoiseach has said that Ireland cannot be "self defeating" in its approach to their scheduled international soccer matches against Israel this autumn.
This comes as the Republic of Ireland are fixed to play Israel twice in the UEFA Nations League in September and October. Both matches were sanctioned by FIFA.
Speaking about this, Mr Martin has said that Irish football is on a positive trajectory at present, and that the country would not "want to be self-defeating in terms of any actions".
On Thursday night, Ireland beat Qatar 1-0 at the Aviva Stadium in a friendly match, which was briefly paused after fans threw tennis balls onto the pitch with the words, 'Stop The Game' and including the Palestinian flag stickers emblazoned on them in protest against these planned matches with Israel.
"The Government doesn't run FIFA", the Taoiseach said. "The full implications of, say, if the Irish team in unilaterally decided to put out, the full implications of that in terms of Irish football needs to be worked out".
"There’s a presumption that if they did, some of that would impact on FIFA, it may have no impact at all on FIFA, or indeed on Israel, for that matter".
When asked if playing the home match at a neutral venue would held matters, Mr Martin said: "The same principle applies that you're playing Israel. And it's a very difficult one".
"There is no room for a team to unilaterally decide not to play," he said, regarding tournament rules".
He went on to state that Gardaí will deal with any security concerns regarding this match.
Elsewhere, the Taoiseach has said that the Government's opposition to the actions of the Israeli Government in Gaza remains very clear, and the "appalling behaviour" of Israeli settlers in the West Bank and to their attacks on Lebanon, as well as the interception of an aid flotilla by Israel which had Irish citizens on board, including Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of Irish President, Catherine Connolly.
He said: "There is no argument about Ireland's opposition to what Israel has been doing in Gaza, and everything shouldn’t be reduced to just one match in terms of the articulation of that opposition or protesting about the Israeli government’s behaviour in Gaza itself".
Mr Martin also claimed that Ireland has "done more than probably any other EU country bar Spain" in respect of "a whole series of measure that we've taken".
He added that Palestinians and nearby Arab countries all "speak highly" of Irish people and the response of the Government.
"It can't all be boiled down to one football game. I do acknowledge that people want to protest and people are very angry that it's happening", he said.
At present, there are no plans to set up a special board meeting of the FAI to discuss this issue. But following protests at the Qatar game, concerns are growing regarding the logistics of hosting the home game with Israel.
David Courell, CEO for the FAI, explained to the general assembly that the fixtures will most likely be fulfilled, due to the impact of likely punishments from UEFA.
This comes as a number of members of the general assembly in the FAI called on the association to take the views of fans and players into consideration and refuse to participate in these Nations League fixtures against Israel later this year.
Minister for Sport, Patrick O'Donovan and Minister of State for Sport, Charlie McConalogue have already confirmed that they will not attend the match between Ireland and Israel in Dublin later this year.
