Political protest in Debrecen: Ireland's players ignored the anthem and handshakes with Israel - PHOTO - VIDEO
The second-round group stage match of the UEFA Nations League in Group 3 of League B between the national teams of Israel and Ireland was marked by a loud political scandal.
The meeting, which took place on neutral ground in the Hungarian city of Debrecen, ended with a crushing 3:0 victory for the Irish, but the main attention was drawn to what happened before the opening whistle.
Before the start of the match between the national teams of Israel and Ireland, taking place in the Hungarian city of Debrecen, the Irish players staged a demonstrative protest.
The incident began during the official pre-match ceremonies. At the moment when the national anthem of Israel was being played, the players of the Irish national team simultaneously lowered their heads and demonstratively looked at the turf, refusing to look at their opponents.
The protest continued after the end of the musical part as well: the teams, including their captains - the Irishman Dara O'Shea and the Israeli Manor Solomon - completely ignored the traditional handshake procedure.
The footballers did not greet each other either after the anthems or during the traditional referee's coin toss to determine the sides of the pitch.
The current aggravation of relations between the football associations of the two countries is directly connected with Ireland's official position regarding Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip. Earlier, the sports community actively discussed a possible complete boycott of this game by the Irish side.
On the eve of the match, the head coach of the Irish national team, Heimir Hallgrímsson, confirmed a serious internal split in the team. According to the specialist, one of the key players officially left the national team's camp, flatly refusing to take part in the match against the Israelis for ethical reasons.
Let us recall that for security reasons, UEFA back in June granted the request to hold both head-to-head meetings of these opponents exclusively on neutral territory and with empty stands.
The current match in Hungary is nominally a home game for Israel. The return game, in which the Irish will be considered the hosts, is scheduled for October 4 and will be held in the Serbian city of Bačka Topola.
