Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said Israel were “trying to intimidate” his team during Sunday’s tense Uefa Nations League draw, which finished 1-1 behind closed doors in Serbia. The match at TSC Arena was overshadowed by an incident at half-time, when the teams clashed as they made their way down the tunnel. The Irish Times reported that Republic of Ireland head of athletic performance Damien Doyle alleged he had been spat at by an Israel player. Television pictures captured a voice saying “he spat on me!” as the players made their way off.
Hallgrimsson declined to dwell on the allegation but linked the flashpoint to a heated two-game series. “I don’t want to get involved in that, but it’s been like this these two games. It’s tense, it’s a lot of emotions,” he told Off The Ball. He said it was “an accusation of spitting on someone but I didn’t see it”, adding that it would “just be reviewed probably like everything else that’s happened between the two teams”. He also praised his players for keeping calm, saying the game could have become one of yellow and red cards but Ireland remained composed and controlled their emotions.
Israel head coach Ran Ben-Shimon said he did not see “anything” regarding the half-time incident. He said he was in the dressing room with his staff at half-time and would get back to the question when he had a chance to check.
The tensions had deepened before the match. On Saturday, Ireland’s pre-match news conference was ended abruptly after Hallgrimsson faced what he later called a “verbal attack” from Israeli reporters. He was asked by an Israeli reporter about alleged racism by Irish players during last week’s encounter in Hungary, which Ireland won 3-0. The news conference was brought to a close by FAI communications manager Kieran Crowley, who said the allegations were “completely untrue” as the mood soured.
It followed news that the FAI were investigating whether Republic of Ireland forward Adam Idah was racially abused by Israel fans during the first match in Debrecen. It is understood that midfielder Jayson Molumby spoke to match officials during play, asking them to listen out for what he believed to be abusive chanting from some of the small number of Israel fans present. Asked whether his players targeted Molumby after that complaint, Ben-Shimon said it was “nothing personal” against the West Brom midfielder. “Come on, come on. We don’t do it. We just don’t do it, we are not men like this,” he said. He added that he would never tell a player to play aggressively against an opponent, though he sometimes tells his players to be aggressive as the best way to play clear football, and that he never tells them to injure someone. “This is not our way, we are human beings.”
The two fixtures, both played at neutral venues, have been surrounded by controversy since February, when the teams were drawn together in Group B3. Ireland players have faced persistent calls to withdraw because of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, with the Stop The Game campaign, organised by pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine, staging protests before and during Thursday’s game against Austria in Dublin. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu said it would be “wrong” for him to participate and made himself unavailable, but the FAI decided to fulfil both fixtures. The teams did not engage in pre-match formalities in either match, and the Irish players bowed their heads during Israel’s national anthem.