An Israel player has been accused of a bad act towards an Ireland staff member, leading Heimir Hallgrimsson to speak up about it.
An Israeli player has been accused of spitting at a member of the Republic of Ireland’s backroom staff after Sunday’s 1-1 Nations League game.
Ireland and Israel met again on Sunday evening (October 4) in Backa Topola, Serbia, following a heated match on September 27. Before the game, both teams wore black armbands—Ireland to honor “all lives lost in the conflict” in Gaza, and Israel in memory of those who died in the October 7 attack.
Like the previous game, the teams did not shake hands, and Ireland’s players bowed their heads during Israel’s national anthem. Finn Azaz, who has Irish-Israeli roots, and Gavin Bazunu both chose not to play in the match.
As expected, there was some tension during the game. Ireland’s head of athletic performance, Damien Doyle, said he was spat at by an Israeli player as the teams left the pitch at half-time. Footage shows someone saying, “he spat on me” during the break.
Ireland’s head coach, Heimir Hallgrimsson, didn’t want to comment on the claim but said Israel seemed to be “trying to intimidate” his team. He told Off The Ball, “I didn’t see the spitting, and we don’t want to focus on that. It’s been tense and emotional these two games. I’m proud of my players for staying calm. It could have been a much rougher game with more cards, but they handled it well.”
Israel’s coach, Ran Ben-Shimon, also said he “didn’t see anything” about the spitting and that he wasn’t near the pitch during half-time. He said he would check and get back to reporters.
There were also talks that Israel’s players were rougher with Ireland’s midfielder Jayson Molumby, who had asked the referee to watch out for abusive chants in the earlier match. Ben-Shimon said the aggression wasn’t personal, explaining, “We just tried to win the tough battles on the field. I was born and raised in football—I would never tell anyone to hurt a player. We tried to balance emotion and tactics, and I’m proud of how the team played, especially in the second half.”
The game ended 1-1, with Troy Parrott scoring a penalty for Ireland in the 39th minute, and Dor Peretz equalizing for Israel right after half-time. This result leaves Ireland with five points from four Nations League games, while Israel has two points and hasn’t won yet in League B Group 3.
The Israeli Football Association chose not to comment when asked by The Irish Times.