The row escalated on Monday when the Israeli association tweeted a scathing reply to the Republic of Ireland manager. Reports also indicated the IFA was weighing a formal complaint to European football’s governing body.
Heimir Hallgrímsson had set off the exchange when he was asked to justify Ireland fulfilling the fixture at all.
“We are not playing with genocide; we are playing against genocide. We are playing against Israel; we are not playing with Israel.”
‘No cure for stupidity’
The IFA aimed its reply directly at the Ireland dugout.
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“We have contributed to the world and humanity in countless fields, earning an impressive number of Nobel Prizes along the way. Unfortunately, we have not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy displayed by the @IrelandFootball team coach.”
The association followed with a second post:
“We’re not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity; we’re playing against the coach who embodies them.”
The FAI declined to comment on the exchange.
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Both matches on neutral ground
The two teams meet on Sunday, 27 September at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary. Kick-off is at 7:45pm local time. It is Israel’s designated home match; no international fixture has been played on Israeli soil since October 2023 for security reasons.
The return leg on 4 October will be played in Backa Topola, Serbia, behind closed doors after the FAI requested no spectators at the ostensible Irish home tie. The association also confirmed it would not sell tickets to Ireland fans for the away leg in Hungary.
Athletes urge the squad to walk away
The fixtures are being played only because FAI members backed the association’s position at an extraordinary general meeting on 8 July, when a motion to proceed passed 75-32 with three abstentions.
The pressure has not eased since. On Monday, more than 160 Irish athletes signed an open letter organised by Irish Sport for Palestine urging the squad to walk away from both matches. Olympian Ciara Mageean, Ireland women’s football defender Louise Quinn, former rugby international Tony Ward, and Gaelic games players Rena Buckley and Joe Brolly were among the signatories.
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“Not playing the game would be the most sporting thing you could do,” the letter told the players.
Hallgrímsson has repeatedly said he opposes a boycott on footballing grounds, while pointing to what he sees as an inconsistency by governing bodies.
“I don’t see a difference between FIFA and UEFA banning Russia and not Israel,” he said before the EGM, in comments carried by the Irish News.
RTÉ, the state broadcaster that holds the rights, confirmed last week it would strip its coverage of both matches back to a bare minimum.
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