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Ireland's soccer team wore black armbands and refused handshakes with the Israeli team during their second Nations League match on Sunday in Backa Topola, Serbia. This followed similar actions by Ireland during their first match last week. The decision came amid pressure from home supporters to boycott games due to Israel’s actions in Gaza, although Irish players ultimately voted 14-8 to play both matches after a day of deliberation before the first game.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On Saturday, during a pre-match news conference for the Republic of Ireland's UEFA Nations League match against Israel in Backa Topola, Serbia, tensions escalated when an Israeli journalist asked questions unrelated to football. The journalist inquired about alleged racist comments made by Irish players and the Flydubai flight incident involving a co-pilot attempting a terrorist act. This prompted Kieran Crowley, communications manager for the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), to intervene and deny the allegations, stating they were "completely untrue." The confrontational tone led the press conference to abruptly end.
The match was moved to Serbia due to security concerns in Ireland and follows the contentious first game where Irish players wore black armbands and did not shake hands with their Israeli counterparts. Previously, some Irish players had voted on whether to play the match amidst protests against Israel's actions in Gaza. The FAI faced calls for a boycott but resisted, fearing potential UEFA sanctions if they canceled.
The incident highlights ongoing political tensions between Ireland and Israel over the conflict in Gaza, with supporters of both sides expressing strong views about the games' implications.
Written for “Ireland vs Israel Nations League Cont…” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
-
Ireland players again wore black armbands and bowed their heads during the Israeli national anthem before the teams’ second Nations League soccer match on Sunday.
left shows support for Palestinian cause by protesting against Israel
-
Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher stepped in as captain for Dara O’Shea – who was excused to be with his wife for the birth of their child – and he pointedly avoided shaking hands with Israel captain Dor Peretz, despite completing the usual pre-match formality with the referee and one of his assistants.
left demonstrates refusal to engage in normal sportsmanship as a political statement
-
Ireland went on to win that game 3-0 through three first-half goals. Solomon was dropped to the bench for Sunday’s match in Backa Topola, Serbia.
left implies Israel's performance suffered due to political pressure
-
Sunday’s game was initially supposed to be played in Dublin, but the Football Association of Ireland moved the game to a neutral venue for “operational reasons” in June following widespread calls for a boycott in protest of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
left acknowledges political pressure leading to venue change
-
Pressure All the Irish players had been under pressure from home, where affinity with Palestinians is strong, to boycott the second match against Israel, though they faced the greatest pressure before the first game.
left highlights public support for Palestinian cause
Leaning: leans strongly left for article 55989 (medium confidence, 5 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-04
Claims extracted
17
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
6%
1 of 17 hedged
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Correction & hedging signals
63.3
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
16
Sports
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
BACKA TOPOLA, Serbia (AP) — Ireland players again wore black armbands and bowed their heads during the Israeli national anthem before the teams’ second Nations League soccer match on Sunday.
asserted
players → wear → Sunday
The Israeli players also wore black armbands in memory of the people killed in the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
asserted
players → wear → Oct.
Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher stepped in as captain for Dara O’Shea – who was excused to be with his wife for the birth of their child – and he pointedly avoided shaking hands with Israel captain Dor Peretz, despite completing the usual pre-match formality with the referee and one of his assistants.
asserted
he → step → assistants
Kelleher repeated O’Shea’s actions before the first match in Debrecen, Hungary last week, when O’Shea declined to shake Israel captain Manor Solomon’s hand.
asserted
O’Shea → repeat → hand
Ireland went on to win that game 3-0 through three first-half goals.
asserted
Ireland → go → goals
Solomon was dropped to the bench for Sunday’s match in Backa Topola, Serbia.
asserted
Solomon → drop → Topola
Israel forward Sayed Abu Farchi was back in the squad after serving a suspension for getting sent off following his goal celebration during Israel’s 3-1 defeat to Austria on Sept. 25.
asserted
Farchi → serve → Sept.
Finn Azaz, whose mother has Israeli heritage, was among the Irish substitutes after playing from the start against Austria on Thursday.
asserted
mother → have → Thursday
Sunday’s game was initially supposed to be played in Dublin, but the Football Association of Ireland moved the game to a neutral venue for “operational reasons” in June following widespread calls for a boycott in protest of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
asserted
Association → suppose → Gaza
The FAI said the game would be played with no fans present.
asserted
game → say → fans
It followed the FAI’s own motion the previous November calling on UEFA to ban Israel from club and international competitions.
asserted
It → follow → competitions
Pressure
All the Irish players had been under pressure from home, where affinity with Palestinians is strong, to boycott the second match against Israel, though they faced the greatest pressure before the first game.
asserted
they → boycott → game
Ultimately only reserve goalkeeper Gavin Bazuno decided to skip both of the contentious games, saying in a statement that it was his “personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong.”
asserted
killing → decide → people
Protesters threw tennis balls with Palestinian flags onto the field during Ireland’s 2-2 draw with Austria on Thursday, when a man with a Palestinian flag also later tried running onto the field.
asserted
man → throw → field
On Saturday, an Israeli journalist stated during the pre-match press conference that the Irish players had called the Israeli players “monkeys” during last week’s game, leading to an immediate rebuke from Irish communications officer Kieran Crowley, who said it was “a lie” and ended the press conference.
asserted
it → state → conference
The players only decided to go ahead with the fixtures after a dramatic day in Debrecen before the first match, when both press conference and training were delayed for hours while they deliberated.
asserted
they → decide → hours
They reportedly voted 14-8 in favor of continuing after Bazunu’s withdrawal that morning.
uncertain
They → vote → withdrawal
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