After draw with Israel, Heimir Hallgrimsson urges UEFA to act

“UEFA needs to take measures”: after a 1-1 draw with Israel, played behind closed doors in Bačka Topola, Serbia, on Sunday, Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson called on the governing body to stop arranging matches between the two countries. He said he was exhausted after the game, which brought both bitterness and relief.

The two-match series was marked by heated debate and tension. Ireland had even considered a boycott to denounce what it described as “genocide” by the Israeli army against Palestine. Hallgrimsson said he would not wish on any national team what his side had gone through over the previous two weeks. Asked whether such matches should take place, he replied: “No, that should not happen.” He also said: “I think we are better than Israel.”

Hallgrimsson felt his team had failed to show that after the break, pointing to possible mental and physical fatigue. “This camp was difficult, even without all these discussions and this fiasco,” he said, while believing Ireland could be satisfied with the points collected. He added that he was mainly glad the episode was over: the team have two matches next month and can still win the group.

The closed-door setting also affected the tempo, the manager said. Having played in front of a packed Aviva a few days earlier, his players found it difficult to summon motivation for a game that felt like a friendly to him. He lamented the slow pace and the lack of encouragement from the stands, while acknowledging that his side should have done better. “I would have signed up for this situation straight away before we started,” he also admitted.

Tensions continued after the match: Israel’s captain said, “They hate us and we don’t like them,” while an Israeli journalist accused Irish players of insulting their opponents by calling them monkeys. Israel’s team wore black armbands after receiving UEFA’s permission.