Szoboszlai booed and branded 'evil' as Liverpool duo face hostile Belfast crowd

Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez were subjected to sustained booing from the Windsor Park crowd as Hungary drew 0-0 with Northern Ireland in a UEFA Nations League B2 fixture on Monday, with the Hungarian press subsequently hitting back at coverage that branded the Liverpool captain “evil.”

According to a report in The Irish News, the hostility directed at the two Liverpool players was rooted in a long-standing Windsor Park tradition of jeering any Reds stars who appear on the opposing team. Kerkez was targeted early in the match, while Szoboszlai drew the loudest reaction after repeatedly disputing decisions with the referee. When the Hungarian skipper stepped up to take a corner at the Kop end of the ground, the boos were described as deafening.

The Irish News piece referred to Szoboszlai as “big bad Dom” and described a sequence in which, after being caught by a Shea Charles challenge, he leapt to his feet and gestured theatrically — seemingly feeding off the hostile atmosphere rather than attempting to calm it.

The report caused significant controversy back in Hungary, where media outlets accused the Irish press of deliberately portraying Szoboszlai as a villain. Hungarian journalists took particular exception to the framing, arguing that the coverage was unfair and sensationalised.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill added his own criticism of the Hungarian players’ conduct after the final whistle. “I was disappointed with some of the Hungarian players’ behaviour on the pitch, holding their faces and screaming,” he said. “Really, there was no need for that. It was an honest, competitive game. We didn’t need the nature of the simulation or the antics. We want that away and out of the game.”

The 0-0 stalemate in Belfast followed a difficult start to Hungary’s Nations League campaign. In their opening fixture last Friday, both Szoboszlai and Kerkez played the full 90 minutes as Hungary fell 1-0 to Ukraine in Budapest — a result that came despite Ukraine being reduced to ten men in second-half stoppage time.