Milan, 5 Oct. (LaPresse) – “There is obviously strong support for Palestine in Ireland. There aren’t many countries that support Palestine as much as Ireland does. I wouldn’t wish what we’ve been through over the past two weeks on any national team; perhaps UEFA should step in and do something.” Ireland’s head coach, Heimir Hallgrímsson, has called on UEFA to prevent Ireland and Israel from facing each other in future competitions, in light of the controversial Nations League matches. The two sides drew 1–1 in Ireland’s ‘home’ match played on Sunday in Backa Topola, Serbia, a week after Ireland’s 3–0 victory in Israel’s ‘home’ match played in Debrecen, Hungary. Following the matches, Hallgrímsson told the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ that he believed UEFA should prevent the two teams from facing each other in future. “There were many incidents that could have escalated,” Hallgrímsson said. “We were sensible enough to defuse the situation before it went any further. I got the impression that the intention was to intimidate us and provoke us into doing something foolish,” he added, referring to the behaviour of the Israeli players and the press.
Football, Ireland manager: “UEFA should stop us playing against Israel”
Milan, 5 Oct. (LaPresse) – “There is obviously strong support for Palestine in Ireland. There aren’t many countries that support Palestine as much as Ireland does. I wouldn’t wish what we’ve been through over the past two weeks on any national team; perhaps UEFA should step in and do something.” Ireland’s head coach, Heimir Hallgrímsson, has called on UEFA to prevent Ireland and Israel from facing each other in future competitions, in light of the controversial Nations League matches. The two sides drew 1–1 in Ireland’s ‘home’ match played on Sunday in Backa Topola, Serbia, a week after Ireland’s 3–0 victory in Israel’s ‘home’ match played in Debrecen, Hungary. Following the matches, Hallgrímsson told the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ that he believed UEFA should prevent the two teams from facing each other in future. “There were many incidents that could have escalated,” Hallgrímsson said. “We were sensible enough to defuse the situation before it went any further. I got the impression that the intention was to intimidate us and provoke us into doing something foolish,” he added, referring to the behaviour of the Israeli players and the press.