Racist abuse allegation against Adam Idah will not be investigated after Uefa protocol failure

Uefa will not investigate an allegation of racist abuse aimed at Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah by Israeli fans during Sunday’s Nations League fixture, after the governing body confirmed its protocols were not correctly followed during the 3-0 win for Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side.

Irish midfielder Jayson Molumby heard chants directed at Idah during the first half and alerted referee Harms Osmers and fourth official Florian Exner, asking them to listen. However, Molumby stopped short of formally stating that a racial incident had occurred, and the officials did not hear any racist abuse themselves — meaning Uefa’s threshold for opening an official investigation was not met.

The Football Association of Ireland, which received the confirmation directly from Uefa, has said it will review video footage from the game in an attempt to build a case. “We’re going to review the video evidence from the game and try and determine if there is any evidence of racism,” an FAI spokesperson said. “If we believe that to be the case, we will send [the evidence] to Uefa demanding an investigation into the incident.”

The FAI also noted that Idah himself was uncertain whether he heard racist chants and said the striker is unaffected by the incident.

The match had already attracted significant attention before kick-off, with Ireland’s players holding a meeting on Friday to discuss whether they would take part given the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine in Gaza. A vote was taken on whether to refuse to play, and goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu ultimately made himself unavailable for both the fixture and the return match against Israel on 4 October, though he will be available to face Austria on Thursday.

“I have been speaking to Gavin multiple times a day, regularly going to his room,” Hallgrímsson said. “None of us asked him not to take his stand. And now he is flying back with us on the plane. He is in the squad and the plan is he will be with us against Austria and not against Israel in the second game. We will need to call in a third goalkeeper.”

Further discussions between the players and the FAI are expected ahead of the second Israel fixture next Sunday, though Hallgrímsson offered no update on whether that match will proceed as scheduled.