Monkey criticism ends Ireland's Nations League press conference before Israel

Ireland's national coach Heimir Hallgrimsson had to cut short his press conference before the second Nations League clash with Israel after a journalist claimed that Irish players had called Israeli national team members “monkeys”. The allegation sparked a verbal exchange that communications chief Kieran Crowley ended immediately.

Cancellation and Separate Briefings

Kieran Crowley stated that the claim was completely false and declared the discussion round closed. Afterwards a separate briefing was scheduled exclusively for Irish media and later moved to another part of the stadium because a representative of Israeli broadcasting wanted to attend.

The incident follows an earlier controversy when the Irish team had considered a boycott because of the Gaza war. Hallgrimsson had already, a day before his team's 3-0 victory, emphasized that Ireland was playing not with Israel but against Israel.

The tense atmosphere before the Sunday evening clash in Backa Topola (Serbia) is further heightened by the recent events. The Irish team's home match does not take place in Ireland, but the first meeting was already held in Debrecen, Hungary, on neutral ground.

Hallgrimsson will not go into detail about the allegations; UEFA is first reviewing the incidents internally and then through the relevant departments.