
Press conference interrupted abruptly after a heated confrontation between Israeli journalists and the Irish national team staff.
AI-generated summary
The tension between the two national teams is linked to the situation in Gaza. Irish players have previously protested by wearing black armbands.
The level of tension that has characterized the Nations League double match between Ireland and Israel, placed in the same group, shows no signs of abating for over a week.
On the eve of the second match between the two national teams - which will be played on a neutral pitch in Serbia, and behind closed doors, given that there would have been a risk of protests in Dublin -, the press conference held by Irish coach Heimir Hallgrimsson was abruptly interrupted while the Irish coach was answering questions from Israeli journalists, which he himself then defined as a "verbal attack".
An Israeli reporter recalled the "terrorist-related" incident that occurred days ago during a Flydubai flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel and asked the coach to say something about "the people he supports, whose ideology is based on murder".
An official from the Irish FA (FAI) replied for him, stating: "Today we don't answer questions of this type, only football." Another then claimed that the Irish players "called our monkeys during the match...", being interrupted by the FAI official, who while saying "this is completely false" made the reporter remove the microphone and ended the press conference prematurely.
The lead-up to the first match, played last Sunday in Hungary, was even more turbulent, with the Irish players having voted whether to play or not, then deciding to take to the pitch, wearing black armbands and lowering their heads during the Israeli national anthem in protest over the situation in Gaza.
Last Thursday, during Ireland-Austria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, the crowd threw dozens of tennis balls onto the court, some with stickers of the Palestinian flag and the words #StopTheGame, forcing the referee to briefly interrupt the match. Shortly after, another protester entered the field with a Palestinian flag. The protest was preceded by a demonstration outside the stadium, with participants calling on the Irish national team not to play the second match against Israel.

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