Гейміра Галльгрімссон та Кіран Кроулі, Getty Images
On Saturday, the press conference of the head coach of the Irish national team, Geimir Hallgrimsson, came to an abrupt end after an Israeli journalist called Irish football players for racist accusations before the hour of the last match.
Football Association of Ireland Press Secretary Kieran Crowley reacted to the refusal, after which the spilting with the press was stopped before the line. This incident became the turning point of tension between the two teams.
The teams' previous matchup, which ended with Ireland beating Ireland 3:0 in Debrecen, was accompanied by low scores. Then the Irish football players took to the field with black armbands, and the match was carried out by the internal vote of the Gravits before entering the game - through the Irish dormitory operation in Ireland..
At the same time, the Association of Ireland began to investigate what the Irish graves did not recognize, Adam Ida and James Abanka, of racial images from the side of a small group of Israeli patients who were present at.
The upcoming match, where Ireland is the nominal ruler, will take place at the Serbian town of Backa Topola behind empty stands. Even in the heart of Ireland, they were planning to move the game to a neutral field for operational reasons after mass protests before the boycott in the middle of the country.
The Irish Association has called on UEFA to defend Israel's participation in international affairs. The Irish team decided to officially boycott the match for fear of disciplinary sanctions from UEFA, which could jeopardize the country's status as Euro 2028 sponsor..
The political subtext continues to accompany the matches of the Irish national teams. Four groups between Ireland and Austria in Dublin had an unfortunate clash with protestors who bombarded the field with tennis balls decorated with Palestinian flags.
Ad
On his own side, the head coach of the Israel national team, Ran Ben-Shimon, spoke at the right distance from unsportsmanlike topics. Commenting on the situation, he said:.
" I did not allow the everyday emotions of this drive to penetrate our team. “I’m not involved in any kind of politics and I’m not going to testify on anything that isn’t related to football,” Kermanich said in a loud voice..
According to the words of the coach, his only meta is the tactical preparation of the team and the search for a decisive solution on the football field.