conference

Israeli journalists asked coach Hallgrimsson about the Flydubai attack and alleged racist abuse by Ireland’s players.

Members of an Israeli media contingent heckled Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson’s news conference prior to the UEFA Nations League football match, causing it to end abruptly amid growing political tensions and protests against the fixture.

During the media event on Saturday, an Israeli journalist asked Hallgrimsson about his views on an incident onboard a Flydubai flight to Israel earlier this week.

According to the prosecutor general of the United Arab Emirates, the Flydubai co-pilot “attempted to carry out a terrorist act”, using an axe against the pilot to take over the aircraft’s controls.

The plane carrying 174 passengers was on its way from the Dubai in the UAE to Tel Aviv in Israel on Wednesday when the copilot wounded Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, who opened the cockpit door to seek help.

The aircraft briefly plunged about 17,000 feet (5,180 metres) before it was brought back under control.

The attacker was not officially identified, but media reports quoting unnamed sources said he was an Omani national, Hamam al-Hammami.

“What do you say about the people that you support? Their ideology is based on murder,” the journalist asked, purportedly hinting at Ireland’s stance on Palestine and attempting to link it to the aviation incident.

Before the Irish team’s coach could answer, the Football Association of Ireland’s communications manager Kieran Crowley stepped in and asked the journalist to refrain from asking questions not linked to the match.

The journalist persisted, carrying on with her question before Crowley stopped her again.

“We respected your questions at the last press conference, but we are doing football questions today,” he said, referring to Israeli journalists’ pointed questions about the calls to boycott the first leg of the European match.

Icelandic coach Hallgrimsson later termed the incident a “verbal attack”.

‘You’ve just broadcast a lie’

The first leg of the fixture was played on September 27 and the FAI faced strong calls for a boycott from the Irish public and former players. The match went ahead and Ireland beat Israel 3-0 amid a tense atmosphere on the pitch.

Following the match, Israeli supporters were accused of directing racist chants towards Ireland player Adam Idah and were filmed raising military slogans, but evaded disciplinary action from the competition’s organisers.

However, another Israeli journalist turned the incident on its head during Saturday’s news conference and accused the Irish team of calling Israel’s players “monkeys” during the match.

FAI’s Crowley was quick to shut out the accusation and ended the media event.

“That’s a lie. You’ve just broadcast a lie,” Crowley said before getting up to walk away.

According to Irish media reports, the FAI is continuing to investigate allegations that Irish players Adam Idah and James Abankwah were racially abused by Israeli fans.

An Israeli supporter also led chants about his country’s military from the stands as he attempted to brush aside the team’s drubbing on the football pitch.

The day before the first leg, goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu publicly withdrew, saying he felt “it would be wrong to participate in the upcoming fixtures against Israel”.

The second leg will be played at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola in Serbia on Sunday.

Ireland’s Hallgrimsson termed it “a game with a lot of emotions attached to it”.

He said the team was focused on winning the second leg as well.

“There’s been a lot of emotions from the people in Ireland about this and obviously that affects the players as well. We want to do good, but it’s always going to be a challenge when the environment is as noisy as it is.”

Demonstrators protest against UK government’s proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.

Police in the United Kingdom have arrested more than 50 people protesting in support of the banned Palestine Action group outside a Labour Party conference in the northwestern English city of Liverpool.

The local Merseyside Police confirmed the arrests in a statement published on Sunday.

The police said those taken into custody at the protest, organised by Defend Our Juries, had displayed material in support of Palestine Action, proscribed as a “terrorist” group by the Labour government in July 2025 under the Terrorism Act.

According to the statement, police respected the rights of people to protest lawfully while aiming to keep the peace and ensure the public are safe.

More than 250 protesters sat outside the conference centre holding banners with words supporting the group on Sunday, before dozens of police began making arrests.

English band Massive Attack singer Robert Del Naja was among those arrested.

After asking demonstrators if they were going to continue holding up the signs, officers led people away, telling them they had been arrested under the Terrorism Act.

Reporting from Liverpool, Al Jazeera correspondent Milena Veselinovic said the protesters wanted to put proscription “front and centre of the UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s agenda” on the first day of his party’s annual conference.

“Being arrested is nothing in comparison to what the people in Gaza are going through, and it’s also worth it, because this is about our right to free speech,” one protester told Al Jazeera.

Another said that “there are priests, there are healthcare workers, there are people who deeply care, and deeply care about right and wrong.”

Kerry Moscogiuri, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, said protesting “is one of the most effective tools” to make government leaders listen and described the arrests as “a truly shameful attack on freedom of speech”.

“The new prime minister can reform our laws so that communities are protected in coming together and demonstrating on the issues they care about. Will he do so?” she said.

Activists also confronted Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband inside a restaurant in Liverpool, demanding that he lift the ban on the group and declare Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The activists left after Miliband reportedly refused to comment.

A civil disobedience campaign has emerged since Palestine Action was outlawed in July 2025, with more than 3,600 people arrested for showing their support for the group, often while holding signs reading, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

The UK Supreme Court is now set to hear the case after London’s Court of Appeal upheld the government ban in June.