Ireland boss referred to as ‘silly’ by Israel FA as offended row erupts days earlier than their match
Israel’s FA criticised Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson after comments ahead of their Nations League fixture this week
Heimir Hallgrimsson has been branded ‘stupid’(Image: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
The Republic of Ireland manager has been criticised by Israel’s football association following comments made by the head coach ahead of the match between the two nations. Ireland and Israel will go head-to-head in the Nations League this weekend, with Hallgrimsson claiming his team will be “playing against genocide”.
Debrecen will host the match between Ireland and Israel as a neutral venue on Saturday, with the teams also set to go head-to-head in another match behind closed doors later in the international break.
Recent weeks have seen calls for Ireland to boycott the match against Israel due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has led to comments being made by Hallgrimsson.
The Ireland boss addressed journalists over the weekend before his team’s match with Israel, where he delivered the remarks that have angered the Israel FA.
Heimir Hallgrimsson has seen his comments criticised by the Israel FA(Image: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
“I’ve said before, we’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. So we’re playing against Israel. We’re not playing with Israel,” Hallgrimsson said via The Times.
“Hopefully we can play good football. That’s my job here. I’m hired here to think about the football things and others on other things.”
In response, Israel’s FA took to social media to criticise the comments made by the Ireland manager.
“We have contributed to the world and humanity in countless fields, earning an impressive number of Nobel Prizes along the way,” the post from the Israel FA read.
“Unfortunately, we have not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by [Ireland’s] team coach.
“We’re not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, We’re playing against the coach who embodies them.”
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Due to security measures implemented since 2023, Israel are hosting their home games at a neutral venue, which is why Ireland will face their next Nations League rivals in Hungary this weekend.
The two nations will compete in a return match just days later, which has been moved from Ireland to Serbia and will be held behind closed doors.
Speaking to journalists last week, Hallgrimsson elaborated on his difficulty in addressing questions ahead of the match with Israel.
“There’s not a Uefa ProLicence seminar that prepares you for something like this,” Hallgrimsson stated last week.
“It’s probably the same for you guys. We’re sat here 20, 30 minutes and we haven’t spoken a word about football. And this is a press conference on a squad playing four national games.”
