Israel FA hits out at Hallgrimsson's genocide comments

The Israel FA has hit out at Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson, insisting his recent comments embody "stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy".

Ireland open their Nations League campaign on Thursday against Kosovo in Pristina, while they will also host Austria at Aviva Stadium on 1 October in the third match of the extended four-game international window.

But since the Nations League draw was made in February, controversy has surrounded the two fixtures against Israel which will take place either side of the Austria match.

Ireland's 'away' game against the Israelis will take place on neutral ground in Debrecen, Hungary next Sunday, 27 September. A week later, the designated Irish 'home' match will be staged in Backa Topola, Serbia on 4 October.

However, calls for a boycott of the games have abounded amid the backdrop of ongoing events in Gaza.

Last September, an independent UN commission concluded that Israel has committed and continues to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli authorities rejected the findings of the report.

During May's friendly win over Qatar, tennis balls were thrown onto the Aviva Stadium pitch at various intervals as part of ongoing protests by the 'Stop The Game' campaign.

However, a motion in favour of proceeding with the fixtures was passed at an FAI EGM in July.

At last week's squad announcement, Hallgrimsson said the fact the players have accepted call-ups for the impending window is a sign of "team spirit" as he acknowledged that some individual players' are "uncomfortable" about the prospect of playing against Israel.

When asked about the difficulty of keeping his players focused on football ahead of the two highly contentious games against Israel, he said:

"I’ve said before, we’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel."

While it has been reported the Israel FA are considering filing a complaint to Uefa over Hallgrimsson's comments, in a post on their official X account, they have publicly hit out at the Irish manager's comments.

"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 FAI declined to comment this evening to Israel's social media post, with Hallgrimsson likely to field questions on the topic at his Wednesday press conference ahead of the Kosovo game.

A group campaigners gathered outside the team's hotel in Dublin on Monday evening, urging the FAI to reverse its decision to proceed with the fixture.

Over 160 Irish sportspeople have signed an open letter to the Irish senior men's national football team, urging them to "act collectively with conscience" and refuse to participate in their upcoming games against Israel.

The letter penned by the Irish Sport for Palestine Group calls on players to 'seize the moment' and boycott the Israel fixtures.

The letter also states the FAI, UEFA, and the government have failed the players and should never have put them in this position.

Watch Kosovo v Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app

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