Heimir Hallgrimsson has spoken of his relief that the Republic of Ireland’s most trying international window is over, after Sunday’s behind-closed-doors 1-1 draw with Israel in the Serbian town of Backa Topola. The match concluded a two-week period in which Ireland played four games, only one of them on Irish soil, and travelled around 5,000 miles. The draw left Hallgrimsson’s side with five points from a possible 12.
The fixtures against Israel were surrounded by scrutiny and pressure, including a boycott campaign by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine called “Stop The Game”, linked to the Israel-Gaza war. The pressure increased before the previous Sunday’s 3-0 win in Debrecen, with goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu making himself unavailable for those games because he felt “it would be wrong to participate”. A vote was held among the remaining players over whether to proceed with the Israel matches on what was a chaotic day.
On the eve of Sunday’s draw, Hallgrimsson’s news conference was cut short when an Israeli reporter made accusations that some Irish players had made racist comments in their victory the previous week. The Football Association of Ireland strenuously denied the claims and had launched its own investigation into racist abuse directed at its own players by some Israel fans in Debrecen.
Hallgrimsson said: “I’m absolutely delighted this is finished. It has taken a toll on us all. The players have been absolutely amazing in tough times and I wish no national team to go through what we have gone through over the last two weeks.” He agreed that he had “been fresher” but said he had “learnt a lot in these two weeks”.
Midfielder Finn Azaz did not play in either of the Israel games. The 26-year-old, who has family links to Israel on his mother’s side, was left out as Hallgrimsson felt the situation was difficult for him, particularly with the squad deciding to wear black armbands and bow their heads during the Israel anthem in both matches. Azaz had produced a fine display in Thursday’s 2-2 draw at home to Austria, but was an unused substitute against Israel.
Hallgrimsson said: “Finn played 90 minutes against Austria and got a little knock, but also, this has been tough on him mentally and I just didn’t feel he was ready for playing. It is probably the most difficult situation for him of all of us. He deserves a lot of credit for being in the squad and showed desire to be a part of this team.”
He added: “It was tough for him that we were wearing black armbands and tough for him that we looked down when the [Israeli] national anthem was sung. It tested him more than all of us, so I felt it was better to leave him out today than play him.”
When the subject of the Southampton midfielder continuing his international career was raised, Hallgrimsson could only say he hoped so. “Nothing points to him quitting and just being here proves it to me that he wants to be with us and wants to be with us in the Euro finals in 2028. He’s shown his quality and worth on the pitch to us.”