Ireland Coach Says Israel 'Tried to Intimidate Us' Amid Spitting Allegation in 1-1 Draw

An unnamed Israel player has been accused of spitting at a member of the Republic of Ireland staff during Sunday’s 1-1 UEFA Nations League draw in Serbia, in an allegation that has not been independently verified. Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson told Off The Ball that Israel were “trying to intimidate us from kick-off,” while Israel coach Ran Ben-Shimon said he saw nothing, BBC Sport reports. UEFA said it had received no official complaint about the half-time incident, Flashscore reports.

What is being alleged about the half-time incident?

Ireland’s head of athletic performance Damien Doyle alleged he was spat at by an Israel player as the teams clashed leaving the pitch at half-time, the Irish Times reported via BBC Sport. On television pictures from the TSC Arena tunnel, a voice can be heard saying “he spat on me” as the players headed for the dressing rooms.

Referee Juan Martinez Munuera is understood not to have seen the incident and stepped in to stop the confrontation escalating, Flashscore reports. Reuters noted it could not independently verify the allegation or establish its original source, and no Israel player has been named in connection with it.

What did the two head coaches say about it?

Two different answers, in two different rooms. At the post-match press conference, Hallgrimsson declined to give details: “I was there. I’m not going to comment. It’s something a disciplinary committee will look at,” he told reporters, via Reuters.

Speaking to Off The Ball, the Ireland coach was fuller. “[It] was an accusation of spitting on someone but I didn’t see it,” he said, via BBC Sport. “I felt like they were trying to intimidate us from kick-off but I give a lot of credit to the players to stay calm. It could have been a game of yellow and red cards but we were composed.” Ben-Shimon said he was in his dressing room with his staff at half-time: “I didn’t see anything. When I get the chance to check I will get back to you.” He also rejected suggestions his players had been overly aggressive, Reuters reports.

What has UEFA said, and what happens next?

Nothing formal, because nothing formal has reached it. Neither FA had commented publicly at the time of publication, and UEFA said it had not received any official complaint and was therefore unable to take further action, Flashscore reports.

That leaves the disciplinary-committee route Hallgrimsson mentioned as the live question: whether either association files a complaint, and whether tunnel footage supports one. The same window had already seen UEFA bar two Israeli journalists from the post-match press conference after a confrontation at Ireland’s pre-game media session, Sky Sports reported via SportBible, and the FAI has been running its own internal review of the first meeting. In a calmer corner of the same international window, Cavan Sullivan became the youngest scorer in USMNT history; this fixture produced no such clean storyline.

Why was the match played behind closed doors in Serbia?

Because the football was never the only story. The FAI staged the match behind closed doors in Backa Topola amid pressure to withdraw from the fixtures, and Ireland had already beaten Israel 3-0 behind closed doors in Hungary a week earlier, Reuters reports. There were no pre-match handshakes, players bowed their heads during the opposing anthem, and both teams wore black armbands with different meanings: Ireland’s for all lives lost in the conflict in Gaza, Israel’s in memory of those murdered in the October 7 massacre, Reuters reports.

Protests followed Ireland through the window, including tennis balls thrown onto the pitch during their home match against Austria in Dublin, in a week when a very different tennis-ball protest targeted Celtic owner Dermot Desmond at the Dunhill Links.

What happened in the match itself?

A poor, tense 1-1 draw. Troy Parrott put Ireland ahead with a 39th-minute penalty, and Israel captain Dor Peretz levelled immediately after half-time with Israel’s first effort on target, Reuters reports. Israel hit the woodwork twice in the second half, and neither side found a winner.

The draw left Ireland third in Group B3 on five points, three behind leaders Austria with Kosovo second on goal difference, and Israel bottom with two points, Reuters reports. For one of the most scrutinised international football coaches of this window, though, the table was not the relief. “I’m absolutely delighted this is finished,” Hallgrimsson said. “It’s taken a toll out of us all. I wish no national team to go through what we have gone through for the last two weeks.”