Irish prime minister backs manager Heimir Hallgrímsson after Israel FA row over Gaza comments
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson received public support from Prime Minister Micheál Martin in New York on 23 September 2026 after Israel’s football federation accused Hallgrímsson of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy” over remarks he made ahead of two Nations League fixtures with Israel. Martin told reporters, “I think those are unacceptable remarks; they should be withdrawn.”
Hallgrímsson had said before the matches: “We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel.” Martin said Hallgrímsson’s comments reflected concerns about the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and cited remarks by the UN secretary general, António Guterres, while also saying, “Israel can’t keep denying what the world knows, and what the world understands.”
The dispute has unfolded amid growing controversy in Ireland over the scheduled fixtures on 27 September and 4 October, with more than 160 Irish sportspeople signing an open letter calling for a boycott. Protesters gathered outside the national team’s Dublin hotel on Monday, and further demonstrations were planned around the country in the run-up to the games.
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) passed a motion last November requesting that Uefa suspend Israel from international competition; the FAI has said it has little choice but to fulfil the fixtures or risk sporting and financial sanctions. Ireland’s designated home match on 4 October was moved from Dublin’s Aviva Stadium to Backa Topola, Serbia, after concerns over disruption and security.
The 27 September match, officially Israel’s home fixture, will be played at a neutral venue in Debrecen, Hungary. Israel strongly rejects allegations that its conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide.
The Guardian reported Israeli official figures that say Hamas’s attack on 7 October 2023 killed 1,221 people and saw 251 hostages taken into Gaza, 44 of them already dead. The Gaza health ministry, which operates under Hamas and whose figures are generally considered reliable, put the death toll from the subsequent Israeli offensive at 73,919 and said the campaign had displaced virtually the entire population at least once.
Ireland has long been a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, with sympathy for Palestinians often linked to the country’s history of British rule; Dublin formally recognised a Palestinian state in 2024 alongside Spain and Norway and has repeatedly criticised Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza. The two Nations League fixtures remain scheduled for 27 September and 4 October and will be played in Debrecen, Hungary, and Backa Topola, Serbia, respectively.