Backa Topola (Serbia) (AFP) - The Irish national team's press conference on Saturday, on the eve of its second match against Israel in the European Nations League scheduled for Serbia, was stopped early after Icelandic coach Heimir Hallgrimsson faced questions from Israeli journalists.

Published on: 03/10/2026 - 16:34

Ireland beat Israel 3-0 in Hungary in their first match on Tuesday, after turbulent preparations that saw members of the Irish national team vote in favor of playing the match, despite feelings of unease within its ranks due to the war in Gaza.

During that match, the Irish players put armbands on their arms and lowered their heads during the playing of the Israeli national anthem. The two captains did not shake hands before the start of the match.

With the second leg being held on Sunday in Bačka Topola, after the Irish Football Association refused to host the match on its soil for security reasons, the Irish coach’s press conference on the eve of the match raised new tensions.

A journalist asked Hallgrimsson about his opinion on the incident that occurred Wednesday on a Flydubai flight from the UAE to Israel, which the Emirati judicial authorities and Israeli officials described as a “terrorist act.”

The coach was also asked, "What do you say about the people you support? Their ideology is based on killing," adding, "Just this week, someone tried to kill 170 Israeli passengers, including 27 innocent children, and thousands of others."

An Irish press official responded, "We will not receive any questions of this kind today. We will answer questions related to football."

Then another journalist addressed the Irish coach, saying, “Your players described our players as monkeys during the match...”, before an Irish Federation official immediately interrupted him, repeating, “This is absolutely not true,” while the microphone was taken from the journalist in question.

The journalist shouted, "Don't touch me, don't touch me," before the Irish delegation abruptly ended the press conference.

The Israeli authorities condemned the actions of the Irish team, and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Dublin of standing on the "wrong side of history."

Hallgrimsson told reporters, "Overcoming this ordeal and coming out of it together as one team will be a huge victory for me. I say that from the bottom of my heart."

He added, "All the challenges this team went through, and all the criticism. Just if we remain a cohesive group after this match, that will be a great victory for me, this group, and the federation."

He continued, "There were a lot of feelings among people in Ireland about this matter, and it is clear that it affects the players as well."

The Icelander added, "We want to perform well, but it will always remain a challenge when the surrounding atmosphere is so noisy. So we try to focus on the football aspect, and we have done a lot of things to help in this area."

He pointed out, "One of the changes we have introduced in recent matches is that, before entering the field, we do a short prayer and hang out with the players and the entire technical staff, just to calm ourselves before going on the field."

© 2026 AFP

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