Republic of Ireland captain Caoimhin Kelleher and Israel skipper Dor Peretz did not shake hands before kick-off in their second Nations League meeting, as Ireland players and staff again bowed their heads during Israel’s national anthem.
The pre-match stance in Backa Topola, Serbia, repeated the actions taken before last weekend’s fixture in Hungary. Dara O’Shea and Manor Solomon captained the two teams in that match, but O’Shea missed the second game to attend the birth of his child, while Solomon was only named on Israel’s bench.
Solomon had vowed that Israel would seek “revenge” after Ireland’s 3-0 victory in the opening match. He later said: “They hate us and we don’t like them.”
Ireland’s players and officials faced significant pressure to boycott both fixtures because of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
The calls for Ireland to withdraw came through the “Stop The Game” campaign, organised by pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine and backed by former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr and ex-international James McClean.
Ireland’s players voted to continue with last weekend’s match and wore black armbands during the 3-0 win. They and the coaching staff lowered their heads during the Israeli anthem and chose not to exchange pennants before the game.
Heimir Hallgrimsson’s squad and staff repeated that position before Monday’s fixture. Backa Topola was chosen as the venue after the Football Association of Ireland decided in June to move the match overseas.
Israel also wore black armbands for the second encounter after UEFA approved a request to commemorate the victims of the attacks on 7 October 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage in those attacks.
Ireland were again without second-choice goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, who made himself unavailable for both matches. Finn Azaz, who has Israeli heritage, was once more named among the substitutes after playing the full 90 minutes in Ireland’s other Nations League games against Kosovo and Austria.
Press conference ended early
Hallgrimsson’s pre-match press conference was cut short after an Israeli journalist accused Ireland players of using a racist term to refer to Israel’s players.
The journalist alleged that the Irish team had called their opponents “monkeys”. Ireland press officer Kieran Crowley immediately rejected the claim, saying: “That is completely untrue. That is completely untrue.”
An Irish official then tried to take the microphone from the journalist, who said he was doing “his job” and told the official: “You cannot take it.”
Irish media reported before the match that UEFA had barred two Israeli journalists from attending the post-match press conferences after the confrontation.
