Republic of Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said he felt Israel were “trying to intimidate” his team amid allegations of spitting during Sunday’s tense UEFA Nations League draw.
The teams clashed at half-time of the 1-1 draw behind closed doors in Serbia, with the Irish Times reporting that Republic of Ireland head of athletic performance Damien Doyle claimed he was spat at by an Israeli player.
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“He spat at me,” a voice can be heard shouting as players walk down the tunnel at the TSC Arena in television footage.
“I don’t want to get caught up in it, but that’s what these two games have been. It’s tense, there’s a lot of emotion,” Hallgrimsson told Off The Ball when asked about the incident.
“[It] it was an accusation of spitting on someone, but I didn’t see it. No, we don’t want to talk about it. This will probably be viewed as anything that happens between the two teams.
“I thought they were trying to scare us from the start, but I give the players a lot of credit for staying calm. It could have been a yellow and red card game, but we were ready, the players were good, they were good at handling emotions.”
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Ran Ben-Shimon, head coach of the Israeli national team, said he “didn’t see anything” when asked about the break.
“[At] I was in the dressing room, in my room, with my staff for half an hour,” he said.
“I didn’t see anything. I’ll get back to you when I have a chance to check.”
‘Nothing personal against Molumby’
Tensions between the sides deepened after the Republic of Ireland’s pre-match press conference on Saturday ended abruptly following what Hallgrimsson called a “verbal attack” by Israeli journalists.
Hallgrimsson was asked by an Israeli reporter about alleged racism by Irish players during last week’s game in Hungary, which the Republic of Ireland won 3-0.
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The press conference was closed by then Football Association of Ireland (FAI) communications manager Kieran Crowley, who said the claims were “completely untrue” as sentiment soured.
Following the news, the FAI is investigating whether Republic of Ireland striker Adam Aydan was racially abused by Israeli fans during the first leg in Debrecen.
Midfielder Jason Molumbi is understood to have spoken to match officials during the game, asking them to listen to some of the small number of Israeli fans in attendance chanting abuse.
Israel coach Ran Ben-Shimon says his team’s aggression during the game was “nothing personal” against Jason Molumbi (6) [Getty Images]
Asked if his players had targeted Molumby last week following the Irishman’s complaint, Ben-Shimon said there was “nothing personal” against the West Brom midfielder.
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“Come on, come on. We don’t do that. We just don’t do that, we’re not that kind of man,” he added.
“It’s very hard for us to believe, but I will never tell a player to play aggressively against him (an opponent). Sometimes I don’t like it, but I tell my players that sometimes the best way is to play as clear football as you can, but be aggressive.
“I never tell them to hurt anybody. It’s not our way, we’re human.”
The matches, both played at neutral venues, have seen the two teams drawn to play each other in Group B3 since February.
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Republic of Ireland players have faced persistent calls for protests before and during Thursday’s game against Austria in Dublin due to the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, organized by the Stop the Game campaign organized by pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine.
However, the FAI decided to go ahead with both games despite goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu saying it would be a “mistake” for him to take part in the games as he made himself unavailable.
The teams did not participate in pre-match formalities in both matches, and the Irish players bowed their heads during the playing of Israel’s national anthem.