Israel player accused of vile act towards Ireland staff member as Heimir Hallgrimsson forced to speak out

An Israeli player has been accused of spitting at a member of the Republic of Ireland’s backroom staff following Sunday’s 1-1 Nations League draw.

After a fiery affair on September 27, Ireland and Israel went toe to toe once more in Backa Topola, Serbia, on Sunday evening (October 4).

Ahead of kick-off, both sets of players wore black armbands, with Ireland doing so in recognition of “all lives lost in the conflict” in Gaza, while Israel wore the armbands “in memory of those murdered in the October 7 massacre”.

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Israeli player accused of spitting at Ireland staff member

As in the previous clash, the teams did not shake hands. Ireland’s players also decided to bow their heads during Israel’s national anthem.

Both Finn Azaz, who is of Irish-Israeli heritage, and Gavin Bazunu opted out of taking part in the fixture.

As expected, the Nations League clash brought more controversy, with Ireland’s head of athletic performance, Damien Doyle, alleging that he was spat at by an Israeli player when the teams clashed as they left the pitch at half-time.

A voice can be heard saying “he spat on me” in footage of the players leaving the field for the interval.

Despite the allegation, Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson refused to comment on the matter after the match but did suggest Israel were “trying to intimidate” his team during the clash.

"I don't want to get involved in that, but it's been like this these two games. It's tense; it's a lot of emotions," Hallgrimsson told Off The Ball.

"[It] was an accusation of spitting on someone, but I didn't see it. No, we don't want to talk about this. This will be reviewed, probably like everything else that's happened between the two teams.

"I felt like they were trying to intimidate us from kick-off, but I give a lot of credit to the players to stay calm. It could have been a game of yellow and red cards, but we were composed; the players were composed. They did well in controlling emotions."

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Israel head coach addresses spitting allegation

Israel head coach Ran Ben-Shimon said he “didn’t see anything” when pressed on the spitting allegation.

"[At] half-time, I was in the dressing room, my room, with my staff," he said.

"I didn't see anything. When I get the chance to check, I will get back to you."

There were also suggestions that Israel’s players directly targeted Ireland midfielder Jayson Molumby with aggressive play after the 27-year-old asked the referee to pay attention to alleged abusive chants during the previous fixture.

Ben-Shimon claimed the aggression was “nothing personal” towards Molumby.

"We know we have to balance the aggression because if you are too aggressive, you give away a lot of fouls," he said. "It was nothing personal against Molumby. We tried to win the small balls and 50/50 balls, and I think we did that well.

"I was born in football, raised in football. I will never target a player. I never say to someone to injure someone.

"We managed to come today with a balanced approach between emotion and tactical thinking, and I think we showed in the second half specifically we are a very good international team.

"I’m very proud of my players and the way that they performed."

The match finished 1-1, with Troy Parrott scoring a penalty on 39 minutes before Dor Peretz levelled things on 47 minutes.

The draw takes Ireland to five points from four Nations League matches, while Israel remain winless on two points in League B Group 3.

The Israeli FA refused to comment on the matter when contacted by The Irish Times.