BACKA TOPOLA, Serbia — Ireland players again wore black armbands and bowed their heads during the Israeli national anthem before the teams’ second Nations League soccer match on Sunday. The Israeli players also wore black armbands in memory of the people killed in the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel captain Dor Peretz had “7/10” written on his armband. Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher stepped in as captain for Dara O’Shea – who was excused to be with his wife for the birth of their child – and he pointedly avoided shaking hands with Peretz, despite completing the usual pre-match formality with the referee and one of his assistants. Kelleher repeated O’Shea’s actions before the first match in Debrecen, Hungary last week, when O’Shea declined to shake Israel captain Manor Solomon’s hand. Ireland went on to win that game 3-0 through three first-half goals. Solomon was dropped to the bench for Sunday’s match in Backa Topola, Serbia. Israel forward Sayed Abu Farchi was back in the squad after serving a suspension for getting sent off following his goal celebration during Israel’s 3-1 defeat to Austria on Sept. 25. Finn Azaz, whose mother has Israeli heritage, was among the Irish substitutes after playing from the start against Austria on Thursday. Troy Parrott’s penalty in the 39th minute, after a foul by Peretz on Jimmy Dunne, gave Ireland a 1-0 halftime lead. A disagreement broke out on the sideline as the players made their way off the field. Sunday’s game was initially supposed to be played in Dublin, but the Football Association of Ireland moved the game to a neutral venue for “operational reasons” in June following widespread calls for a boycott in protest of Israel’s actions in Gaza. The FAI said the game would be played with no fans present. It followed the FAI’s own motion the previous November calling on UEFA to ban Israel from club and international competitions. Pressure on players All the Irish players had been under pressure from home, where affinity with Palestinians is strong, to boycott the second match against Israel, though they faced the greatest pressure before the first game. “I felt that pressure growing day by day and it’s getting almost to a breaking limit now,” Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said at the time. Ultimately only reserve goalkeeper Gavin Bazuno decided to skip both of the contentious games, saying in a statement that it was his “personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong.” More than 160 Irish sportspeople had signed an open letter urging the FAI to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the two games. Before the departure for Hungary, there were protesters outside the team hotel in Dublin calling on the players to boycott the matches. The SIPTU trade union displayed a huge poster in central Dublin beside the River Liffey asking the players to “Go with your conscience!” and “Don’t play with genocide” beside an image of a blood-splattered ball. Former Ireland coach Brian Kerr said the FAI had “lost the respect of the Irish people” for going ahead with the games. But the FAI resisted the calls, arguing the team could be hit with punishing sanctions by UEFA. Ireland is co-hosting the 2028 European Championship with England, Wales and Scotland. Fraught buildup Protesters threw tennis balls with Palestinian flags onto the field during Ireland’s 2-2 draw with Austria on Thursday, when a man with a Palestinian flag also later tried running onto the field. On Saturday, an Israeli journalist stated during the pre-match press conference that the Irish players had called the Israeli players “monkeys” during last week’s game, leading to an immediate rebuke from Irish communications officer Kieran Crowley, who said it was “a lie” and ended the press conference. The players had only decided to go ahead with the fixtures after a dramatic day in Debrecen before the first match, when both press conference and training were delayed for hours while they deliberated. They reportedly voted 14-8 in favor of continuing after Bazunu’s withdrawal that morning. Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ was only providing stripped-back coverage of both games vs. Israel to meet contractual obligations. There was no studio presentation, commentary on the international feed, or analysis. RTÉ said it was not accepting advertising or sponsorship around either game. RTÉ also announced recently that Ireland will boycott the Eurovision Song Contest for a second year over Israel’s participation.
