Recent comments and statements have taken their toll: The Israel Football Association informed the Irish association on Tuesday that it does not intend to attend the traditional gala event held ahead of matches between the national teams.
The first match will take place on Sunday at 9:45 p.m. in Debrecen, while the second will be held a week later in Serbia behind closed doors.
Israel national team coach Ran Ben Shimon with Eli Dasa
(Photo: Jonas Been Henriksen / NTB / AFP)
Among other concerns, Israel’s team fears that the Irish delegation will use the traditional gathering between the two sides to make further anti-Israel remarks and political statements, including by refusing to shake hands with members of the Israeli delegation.
The decision comes two days after an inflammatory remark by Ireland national team coach Heimir Hallgrímsson. “We're not playing with genocide, we're playing against genocide,” the coach said. “We're playing against Israel, we're not playing with Israel.”
The Israeli association responded on Monday: “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 remarks come amid growing protests by Irish fans calling on their national team to boycott the matches. An article published in The Irish Times argued that “the Irish association should finish the job and cancel the match against Israel. How is this different from Eurovision? Is it reasonable that there we cancel our participation because of Israel, but in football we play against it?”
As reported, Irish public broadcaster RTÉ announced over the weekend that it will boycott the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest after also boycotting last year’s competition. The broadcaster said its position “remains unchanged,” citing “ongoing loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis.”