A member of Ireland’s back-room staff alleged they were spat at by an Israel player during a half-time tunnel bust-up during their highly charged Nations League fixture in Serbia.
Ireland fitness coach Damien Doyle made the accusation following a confrontation as the teams left the field, according to the Irish Times.
The incident came with Ireland leading 1-0 at the break, with Troy Parrott having put Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side ahead from the penalty spot in the 39th minute.
Israel levelled two minutes after the interval with Dor Peretz beating goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher from close range.
Kelleher and Peretz, who captained their respective nations on the night, had earlier declined to shake hands or exchange pennants pre-match.
The pair repeated the stance from last weekend’s initial fixture, when Dara O’Shea and Manor Solomon had led out the two teams.
A member of Ireland’s staff reportedly alleged he had been spat at by an Israeli player during their Nations League match
Ireland’s players again bowed their heads at the Isreali national anthem played before kick off
Ireland captain Caoimhin Kelleher and Israel counterpart declined to shake hands before kick-off
O’Shea missed the second match due to attending the birth of his child, while Solomon was only fit enough to start the match on the bench for Israel.
Solomon had previously vowed that his side would take ‘revenge’ after Ireland’s 3-0 win in the first match, after which he said ‘they hate us and we don’t like them.’
Ireland again bowed their heads when the Israeli national anthem played prior to kick-off, while they also wore black armbands in recognition of all the lives lost in the war in Gaza.
The Irish team had come under intense pressure to boycott both fixtures due to Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
The calls to withdraw were part of a ‘Stop The Game’ campaign, organised by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine.
The campaign was supported by former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr and ex-international James McClean.
Ireland players voted to play last weekend and wore black armbands in the fixture, which ended in a 3-0 victory. Players and staff, as well as lowering their heads during the Israeli national anthem, opted against exchanging pennants pre-match.
Heimir Hallgrimsson’s players and staff repeated the stance pre-match in Backa Topola. The Serbian town had been selected to host the fixture after a Football Association of Ireland decision in June to move the match overseas.
Troy Parrott gave the Republic of Ireland a first half lead from the penalty spot
The match, which initially was set to be held in Dublin, was held behind closed doors in Serbia
Dor Peretz scored Isreal’s equaliser two minutes into the second half of the fixture
Dor Peretz kissed a black armband, which was worn by Israel players in memory of victims of the attacks on October 7 in 2023
Israel players wore black armbands for the second meeting, with UEFA approving a request to honour the memory of victims of attacks on October 7 in 2023, which saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage.
Ireland were again without second choice goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, who made himself unavailable for both fixtures.
Finn Azaz, who has Israeli heritage, was again named on the bench having played the duration of Ireland’s other Nations League ties against Kosovo and Austria.
On the eve of the match, Ireland were forced to end Hallgrimsson’s press conference early after his players were accused of using a racist term to describe Israel players by an Israeli journalist.
The journalist alleged that Ireland players had called their Israeli counterparts ‘monkeys’, prompting an immediate response from Ireland press officer Kieran Crowley, who said: ‘That is completely untrue. That is completely untrue.’
An Irish official then attempted to take the microphone from the journalist who insisted that he was doing ‘his job’ and told him ‘you cannot take it’ in an attempt to keep hold of it.
Irish media reported prior to kick-off that two Israeli journalists were banned by UEFA from attending the post-match press conferences following the chaos.
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