Ireland and Israel refuse handshakes again as Nations League tension spills into chaotic press conference

Republic of Ireland and Israel players refused to exchange pre-match handshakes for the second successive Nations League fixture on Sunday, as the political and diplomatic tensions surrounding the tie continued to overshadow events on the pitch.

The two sides met again just seven days after Ireland’s 3-0 win, and the atmosphere remained charged from the opening moments. Ireland’s players bowed their heads during the Israeli national anthem in a repeat of last week’s protest, while captains Caoimhin Kelleher and Dor Peretz — both different from those who led their teams in the first fixture — declined to shake hands following the coin toss.

Both teams wore black armbands, though for different reasons. UEFA granted Israel’s request to wear them in tribute to the victims of the October 7 attacks, while Ireland wore theirs “in recognition of all the lives lost in the conflict” in the Middle East.

The build-up had already been turbulent before a ball was kicked. Saturday’s pre-match press conference became disorderly when Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson was questioned about an incident on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, in which the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the pilot and attempted to bring the aircraft down. The FAI press officer intervened to restrict questions to football matters, and Hallgrímsson himself declined to reveal his starting line-up, telling reporters: “You will see the starting line up tomorrow. I’m not going to give the media the starting line up.”

The session grew more fractious when an Israeli journalist alleged that a racial slur had been directed at an Israeli player during the previous Sunday’s fixture. The FAI press officer flatly denied the claim, stating “that is not true”, before moving to close the conference. The Israeli reporter objected, saying: “This is a press conference, we have been invited to ask questions.”

The FAI has not issued any further statement on the allegation. The sequence of events across both fixtures has drawn significant attention to the intersection of sport and geopolitics within UEFA competition.