Hallgrimsson

Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said he felt Israel were “trying to intimidate” his team amid allegations of spitting during Sunday’s tense Uefa Nations League draw.

The teams clashed at half-time in the 1-1 draw, played behind closed doors in Serbia, with the Irish Times, external reporting that Republic of Ireland head of athletic performance Damien Doyle alleged he had been spat at by an Israel player.

On television pictures, a voice can be heard saying “he spat on me” as the players made their way down the tunnel at TSC Arena.

“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,” Hallgrimsson told Off The Ball, external when asked about the incident.

“[It] was an accusation of spitting on someone but I didn’t see it. No, we don’t want to talk about this. This will be reviewed, probably like everything else that’s happened between the two teams.

“I felt like they were trying to intimidate us from kick-off but I give a lot of credit to the players to stay calm. It could have been a game of yellow and red cards but we were composed, the players were composed, they did well in controlling emotions.”

Asked about the half-time incident, Israel head coach Ran Ben-Shimon said he “didn’t see anything”.

“[At] half-time I was in the dressing room, my room, with my staff,” he said.

“I didn’t see anything. When I get the chance to check I will get back to you.”

Irish taoiseach [prime minister] Micheal Martin said comments made by the Israel Football Association about the Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson are “unacceptable” and “should be withdrawn”.

Israel’s football governing body accused Hallgrimmson of “ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity” regarding comments made last week when he said: “We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel.”

The teams are set to meet twice in the space of a week in the Nations League, with Israel’s ‘home’ game in Debrecen, Hungary on Sunday, with the return fixture also in a neutral venue of Backa Topola, Serbia on 4 October.

On Monday, the Israel FA posted a message on X, saying: “We have contributed to the world and humanity in countless fields, earning an impressive number of Nobel Prizes along the way.

“Unfortunately, we have not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by @IrelandFootball team coach.

“We’re not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, We’re playing against the coach who embodies them.”

While the Football Association of Ireland [FAI] did not respond, Martin did comment.

“They are unacceptable remarks and should be withdrawn,” he told reporters in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.

“We’re very clear and I think [UN secretary-general] Antonio Guterres said it again this morning, he has never in his lifetime seen the level and scale of death and destruction as he witnessed in terms of the Israeli government’s war on Gaza in the aftermath of the horrific Hamas attack preceding the war. Our manager is saying the exact same thing.

“Israel can’t keep denying what the world knows and what the world understands.”

At an extraordinary general meeting in July, delegates backed an FAI motion to proceed with the games amid concerns that boycotting would cause “significant and lasting harm” for the association.

However, the decision has come under increasing pressure, with a ‘Stop The Game’ campaign launched by Irish Sport for Palestine calling for a boycott.

The campaign has received support from former manager Brian Kerr and ex-player James McClean, and May’s friendly against Qatar in Dublin was disrupted when tennis balls thrown onto the pitch.

The armed Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched a massive military offensive in Gaza. The United Nations believes the retaliation has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians.

Israel has regularly denied committing genocide or war crimes and has said its actions in Gaza have been justified as a means of self-defence.

Earlier this week, FAI director of football John Martin said the games had created a “very uncomfortable situation for everyone” and insisted players “shouldn’t be in a position where they get criticised”.

“We want to represent Ireland with the best games and performances that we can. That’s the agreement with all of us,” added Hallgrimsson.

“Obviously we don’t all share the same opinion. That’s just human nature.”

The Nations League games mark the Republic of Ireland’s first competitive action since their World Cup play-off semi-final defeat by the Czech Republic in March.

Since the penalty shootout loss in Prague, they have played four friendlies, beating Grenada and Qatar and drawing with North Macedonia and Canada.