From spit to “Nazi Germany”. Caldo even spilled in Ireland-Israel

Rthis Sunday, the public of Ireland and Israel initialled a tie to a ball, meeting to count for the fourth round of the League of Nations group stage. The men of the house scored for Troy Parrott at 39 minutes in the conversion of a great penalty, and the visitors answered, at 47, by Dor Peretz... but all this ended up in the background.

This is because, as expected, the moods were on the rise at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Serbia, an area that served as a neutral stage (the original plan was to take place at Dublin Aviva Stadium), precisely because of the animosity between both nations, the result of the British's position on the conflict with Palestine.

The broth began to spill even before the initial whistle, when the players of the Republic of Ireland lowered their heads to the anthem of Israel. The traditional coin was followed, to decide who would start with the ball, with their respective captains, Caoimhin Kelleher and Dor Peretz, refusing to greet or exchange gallardettes.

The host team acted with black smokes in their arms, in honor of the victims of attacks on the Gaza Strip, and the moment of greater tension arose when the Spanish referee Martínez Munuera sounded the whistle for the break, and the players of both teams began to head for the locker rooms.

According to information advanced by the newspaper The Irish TimesDamien Doyle, a member of the Republic of Ireland technical team, claimed to have been the subject of spit by a rival. However, faced with this case, in the area of rapid interviews, the national selector, Heimir Hallgrimsson, refused to go into details.

“It’s a case for the UEFA Disciplinary Committee to examine. There were several incidents of this nature that could have increased in tone,” the Icelandic coach said in statements to the Irish television station TEN, after the final whistle for the match with the selection of Israel.

“ We were smart enough to stop before things went too far. I felt that that was the intention, trying to intimidate us and get us to do something stupid, but I give great credit to the players, by the way they managed their emotions,” he added. The Israeli Football Federation (IFA), for its part, chose to refer to silence.

Israel speaks of “Nazi Germany”

The Israeli government itself would turn once again to the official page on social network X (the old Twitter), to lament the position taken by the selection of the Republic of Ireland, using the historical plan: “While some use the football field as their political theater, for us, this is personal.”.

“1939: Irish players raised their arms in salute to Nazi Germany. 2026: Irish players lowered their heads during the anthem of Israel. Today, Israel's players used black smoke to remember those who were brutally massacred by Hamas on October 7, including former professional footballer Lior Asulin. Some of us have skin in the game. Others, they just make it a spectacle”, one can read.