Former Dublin star Michael Darragh MacAuley says he’s disappointed to see the NFL coming to Dublin this weekend.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings are set to meet at Croke Park on Sunday (kick-off 2.30pm) for what will be the first ever NFL regular season game played in Ireland.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, eight-time All-Ireland winner MacAuley says he’s not a fan of this weekend’s big event at GAA headquarters given the United States’ support of Israel throughout the Gaza war.

"I’m disappointed about it. In what we are witnessing in this period of history, it’s very important to look at who we are getting into bed with,” he stated.

"The NFL is inextricably linked with the American military at the moment. It’s too close for me."

The Ballyboden St Endas clubman added that the majority of franchise owners in the NFL are Republican and give major backing to the Trump administration.

"Mark Wilf, owner of the Vikings, is the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel. He is actively pushing settlements, which is displacing Palestinians, and doing their best to make sure there is never going to be a Palestinian state. They are not passive players in this,” he said.

"The GAA is one of the best organisations in the world. We are so proud of our amateur status and giving into the grassroots of our organisation. The NFL can’t look at themselves in the same mirror and say it is something they do correctly."

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