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Ireland press conference ends abruptly ahead of Nations League match with Israel

A pre-match press conference ended abruptly after the Football Association of Ireland rejected claims of racism before Sunday's Nations League fixture against Israel.

FTMQ News, written by our newsroom0 views

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A pre-match media briefing ahead of the UEFA Nations League match between the Republic of Ireland and Israel ended abruptly after the Football Association of Ireland rejected claims of racism, according to reports from RTE, The Irish Times, and the Irish Independent. Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson spoke to journalists ahead of the game before the press conference was cut short. [1][2][3][5]

Yahoo Sports reported that Heimir Hallgrimsson declined to state whether the Republic of Ireland should play Israel in future fixtures. However, he stated that whether the two teams should meet again in future competitions was a good question for UEFA to consider. [4]

The upcoming game is scheduled to take place behind closed doors in Serbia on Sunday, Yahoo Sports reported. It is the reverse fixture of an earlier Nations League match played in Hungary, which Ireland won by a score of 3-0. [4]

RTE and the Irish Independent reported that the situation descened into chaos before the Israel manager was scheduled to address the media. An official delegate from UEFA was notably absent from the press conference. [3][5]

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In short

  • The pre-match press conference between Ireland and Israel ended abruptly after the FAI rejected racism claims.
  • Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson stated UEFA must consider whether Ireland and Israel should meet again.
  • The Nations League match is taking place behind closed doors in Serbia on Sunday.
  • Ireland previously defeated Israel 3-0 in a fixture played in Hungary.

Sources

Every paragraph above points to the numbered items it rests on. Read the originals here.

  1. [1]‘We are not doing questions like this’: Sound and fury continues to swirl around Ireland and IsraelThe Irish Times, 22h ago (the report this story comes from)
  2. [2]Ireland's pre-Israel press conference - recapRTE, 1d ago
  3. [3]Every second counts as Ireland turn towards Israel sequelRTE.ie, 1d ago
  4. [4]Hallgrimsson: UEFA must consider whether Ireland and Israel meet againYahoo Sports, 1d ago
  5. [5]Israel boss prepares to speak after Ireland press conference ahead of Nations League clashIrish Independent, 1d ago
  6. [6]‘We are not doing questions like this’: Sound and fury continues to swirl around Ireland and IsraelBreakingNews.ie, 1d ago

Background

  1. [7]Sound on Wikipedia
  2. [8]Ireland on Wikipedia
  3. [9]Reactions to the 2026 Iran war on Wikipedia

Our newsroom writes these reports with the help of software, from the 9 sources listed and nothing else, and checks them against those sources. Facts can still be wrong or move on; the originals are the record. Spotted a mistake? Write to daniel@monsterkong.com.

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Earlier reports of ours on the same people and subjects.

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