Ireland backroom staff member claims an Israel player ‘SPAT’ at him during half-time

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.

Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson declined to comment on the incident post-match, suggesting it was ‘one for the [UEFA] disciplinary committee to look at’.

‘There have been a lot of those incidents that could have escalated,’ Hallgrimsson added to Irish broadcaster RTE following a 1-1 draw.

‘We were clever enough to stop it before it went too far. I felt that was the intention to try to intimidate us and make us do something stupid, but a big credit to the players for how they handled their emotions.’ 

The incident came with Ireland leading 1-0 at the break, with Troy Parrott having put Hallgrimsson’s side ahead from the penalty spot in the 39th minute.

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

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.

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.

Israel’s official Government account hit out at the Irish team on social media minutes after the match kicked off, accusing them of ‘moral blindless’.

The post explosively compared the pre-match stance to when Ireland played Nazi Germany in May 1939, months before the Second World War.

Israel’s official Government hit out at the Irish team minutes after kick-off, explosively drawing a comparison between Ireland’s stance and a fixture they played against Nazi Germany in 1939

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

‘While some use the football field as their political theatre, for us this is personal,’ the post read.

‘1939: Irish players raised their arms in salute to Nazi Germany. 2026: Irish players bowed their heads during Israel’s anthem.

‘Different generations. The same moral blindness.

‘Today, Israel’s players wear black armbands to remember those brutally massacred by Hamas on October 7 – including former professional footballer Lior Asulin.

‘Some of us have skin in the game. Others just make a show of it.’

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.

Dor Peretz scored Israel’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

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.

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.

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.

‘It would have been tempting to put him [Azaz] in, but I did not want to put that load on him,’ Hallgrimsson said.

‘It has probably been the toughest two weeks for him of all our players and staff, an emotional week for him.’ 

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.

Heimir Hallgrimsson called for Ireland and Israel to be prevented from playing each other in future

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.

Hallgrimsson was asked post-match whether Ireland and Israel should play together UEFA competitions in future following the animosity over the two matches.

‘No, they shouldn’t. That is not ours to decide, that is UEFA to decide that,’ he told RTE.

There is obviously a big support for Palestine in Ireland, there are not many countries that support Palestine as much as Ireland does.

‘I wouldn’t wish any national team to go through what we have gone through these two weeks, so maybe UEFA just needs to step in and do something.’