Republic of Ireland press conference in Backa Topola cut short amid accusations
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson's pre-match news conference in Backa Topola ahead of Sunday's Nations League Group B3 'home' game against Israel in Serbia ended abruptly on Saturday after journalists raised allegations and unrelated incidents. The session, which had run for more than 11 minutes, closed after questions about alleged racist behaviour during last Sunday's 3-0 win over Israel and an unrelated in-flight attack were put to Hallgrimsson.
Hallgrimsson had been answering questions about Sunday’s fixture, the strain of a four-game international window and Thursday's 2-2 draw with Austria when he revealed that Dara O'Shea, serving as captain in place of the injured Nathan Collins, was not with the squad because his wife was due to give birth. He said O'Shea may arrive back in Backa Topola prior to Sunday's 19:45 BST kick-off. The meeting was permitted to be broadcast live for its first section before events took a different turn.
The conference soured after one reporter attempted to ask Hallgrimsson about Wednesday's incident in which a co-pilot attacked a pilot on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv before other passengers overpowered the attacker, and another questioned alleged racism by Irish players during last Sunday's 3-0 win over Israel in Hungary. Hallgrimsson refused to relinquish the microphone when pressed on those topics, at which point Football Association of Ireland head of communications Kieran Crowley brought the news conference to a close, calling the allegations "completely untrue".
The allegations of racism were raised amid a separate FAI inquiry into reports that Israel fans in Debrecen directed racist abuse towards Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah. Hallgrimsson told reporters he would not be drawn on either matter and would not "get involved in that as others will process that." He added: "It is a game with a lot of emotions attached. I haven't read anything and it's not something I want to get involved with. It goes to a process, both in our department and with Uefa. "Something was reported by both teams so I just hope we can focus on football and football will be the winner after this. "I have not gone into details looking at this as I have enough to think about."
Hallgrimsson also described a ritual the squad has adopted ahead of recent matches, saying the team have taken to a group prayer "just to cool our heads before we go on to the pitch" which has been led by midfielder Conor Coventry, whom he joked is now known within the squad as "Brother Coventry".
Tensions around the double-header with Israel have been apparent since the teams were drawn together in February, when the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine launched a 'Stop The Game' campaign calling for a boycott of the fixtures. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew from the squad, saying "it would be wrong to participate", and FAI chief executive David Courell told reporters a vote by players to play the games passed by a "significant majority".
Protests have accompanied recent fixtures: during the game against Austria in Dublin on Thursday tennis balls were thrown onto the pitch and a protester briefly interrupted the match when he ran onto the turf waving a Palestine flag. Hallgrimsson said, under the circumstances, it will be "a big win for this group and the association if we go through undamaged" and added: "The most pleasing thing for me is to see the togetherness and how they stand up for each other. Whatever they have done, they have done it with respect to the situation, to each other and after this, this bond of brothers will be stronger than ever. All the obstacles this group will face in the future will be lesser than it is. "When we look back, this camp will be a moment we grew the most and stepped up as leaders, supported each other and stuck together. The power of togetherness is stronger than individuals."
Ireland play Israel in Serbia on Sunday, with kick-off scheduled for 19:45 BST; the fixture follows last week's 3-0 win over the same opposition.