Hallgrimsson admits Israel 'genocide' remarks were 'not clever' as Irish taoiseach backs him

Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has acknowledged that his pre-match comments describing the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against Israel as ‘playing against genocide’ were poorly timed, telling a press conference on Wednesday that the remarks were ‘maybe not clever from me’ from a leadership perspective. The admission came even as Irish taoiseach Michael Martin publicly backed him and condemned the Israel Football Association’s response as ‘unacceptable’.

Hallgrimsson made the original comments over the weekend, ahead of a Nations League double header against Israel that will be played at neutral venues — the away fixture in Hungary on Sunday, and the ‘home’ game in Serbia on 4 October. The Football Association of Ireland requested the Dublin fixture be moved due to security concerns, amid ongoing calls from campaigners in Ireland to boycott both games.

The Israel Football Association responded furiously on Monday, writing on social media: ‘We’re not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, we’re playing against the coach who embodies them.’

Martin, speaking to reporters at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, called that statement ‘unacceptable’ and said it ‘should be withdrawn’. He framed Hallgrimsson’s original remarks as consistent with international opinion on the conflict in Gaza. ‘Our manager is saying the exact same thing,’ Martin said. ‘Israel can’t keep denying what the world knows and what the world understands.’

Hallgrimsson, however, was candid about the distraction his comments had created ahead of a more immediate fixture against Kosovo. ‘Creating the headlines from what I said last time has taken the attention away from what is maybe most important — we are playing an important game against Kosovo,’ he said. ‘That was not the purpose and maybe from a leadership point of view it was not clever from me, to take the attention like this. I need to be focused on the game and the players need to be focused on the game.’

The Israeli government has consistently denied charges of genocide in relation to its military campaign in Gaza, which began following the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2022 in which approximately 1,200 people were killed.