Martin says Israel FA remarks about Hallgrimsson 'unacceptable'
Irish taoiseach [prime minister] Micheal Martin said comments from the Israel Football Association about Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson were "unacceptable" and "should be withdrawn", speaking in New York where he is attending the UN General Assembly.
Israel's football governing body accused Heimir Hallgrimsson of "ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity" over remarks he made last week when he said: "We're not playing with genocide, we're playing against genocide. We're playing against Israel, we're not playing with Israel." The teams are due to meet twice in the space of a week in the Nations League, with Israel's 'home' game in Debrecen, Hungary on Sunday and the return fixture in a neutral venue in Backa Topola, Serbia on 4 October.
On Monday, the Israel FA posted a message on X, saying: "We have contributed to the world and humanity in countless fields, earning an impressive number of Nobel Prizes along the way. "Unfortunately, we have not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by @IrelandFootball team coach. "We're not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, We're playing against the coach who embodies them."
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) did not respond to the Israel FA post, but Martin addressed the matter directly in New York. "They are unacceptable remarks and should be withdrawn," he told reporters, adding: "We're very clear and I think [UN secretary-general] Antonio Guterres said it again this morning, he has never in his lifetime seen the level and scale of death and destruction as he witnessed in terms of the Israeli government's war on Gaza in the aftermath of the horrific Hamas attack preceding the war. Our manager is saying the exact same thing. "Israel can't keep denying what the world knows and what the world understands."
There have been growing calls in Ireland for a boycott of the fixtures, and a protest was held at the Republic of Ireland team hotel in Dublin on Monday. The protest followed an open letter from the Irish Sport for Palestine Group, signed by over 160 Irish sportspeople, urging the FAI to withdraw from the Nations League fixtures because of the situation in Gaza.
The article notes the wider events that prompted the controversy: "The armed Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched a massive military offensive in Gaza, during which more than 73,000 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN. Israel has repeatedly denied that it has committed genocide, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity. It says its military operations in Gaza have been conducted in self-defence and in accordance with international law."
Uefa rejected a request to keep Republic of Ireland and Israel separate, the FAI said; despite the dispute, the Nations League meetings remain scheduled with Israel's 'home' match in Debrecen on Sunday and the return fixture in Backa Topola on 4 October.
