The Israel FA hits out at Republic of Ireland manager
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What did Ireland manager Hymer Al Grimson say that sparked the controversy?
The row over the Republic of Ireland's games with Israel has intensified after manager Hymer Al Grimson said, We are not playing with genocide, we are playing against genocide. The Israel Football Association Association has now publicly attacked those comments and is reportedly considering a complaint to UEFA. With calls growing for the Ireland players to boycott the fixtures. The controversy is putting the FAI. I and the players under increasing pressure. Joining me now to discuss this is Gavin Cooney, sports correspondent with the Irish Times. Morning, Gavin. How are you, David? Uh Hal Grimson's comments at that press conference, I think it was last week, um, what do you make of them?
Yeah, um it was uh it was one of the more extraordinary press uh briefings that I've been involved with with an with an Ireland manager. He's and he admitted himself that there there's nothing on the UEFA pro licensed coaching course that prepares a any coach for this, that the you know, twenty, twenty five minutes of questions uh and there hardly been a single question specifically on football. Um and he does he admitted afterwards that he does worry about saying the uh saying something that will
How did the Israeli Football Association respond to Grimson’s comments?
land him in in his own words a pit and admits that there is difficulty because he thinks in Icelandic and translates to English. But to say that we're playing against genocide and um not playing with genocide, I mean he is echoing the opinion there of the independent UN Commission of Inquiry that Israel um are committing genocide in Gaza and I think it's one obvious head obviously headline grabbing um example of how these are not for uh normal football matches and that the any hopes that the football can be quarantined away from its wider context, um, those hopes are going to be disappointed.
The Israeli response was uh pretty extreme as well, wasn't it? Talking about ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity. Uh they didn't put a tooth on it, did they?
No, it it it was uh so unfortunately we have not yet found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and and hypocrisy displayed by the Ireland football team coach, um, said the Israeli FA on their official social media channels. That's an insult upon an individual in football from an institution in football that I don't know has precedent in certainly in UAFA qualifiers. Anything that I've covered before I've never really come across anything like that. Um and it goes to show again just how fraught and acrimonious these next two weeks are going to be for everyone involved and adjacent to these fixtures um and the accentuates as well the very difficult position into which Hal Grimson and the players have been placed uh by the decision for these games to go ahead.
Yeah, talking about the players, I mean there is intense pressure on them.
Why are Irish players and fans calling for a boycott of the Israel fixtures?
We've had um a hundred and sixty, I think it was, sportspeople, uh Irish sportspeople calling on the team to boycott the games. There's been calls from all sorts of people for boycott of the games. It is a very, very difficult position for sports people to be in, isn't it?
It is very, very difficult. And you know there were protesters outside the Ireland Team Hotel at Castle Nock yesterday evening chanting, you know, Don't play, don't play to the tune of Olay Olay. They are in a difficult position. I I think they're aware that they're in a difficult position. The FAI are doing their best, in their words, to protect the players. So their media engagements have been vastly cut back. We won't be hearing very much from the Ireland players in interview settings over the next couple of weeks. There's obviously pressure on them to, if not boycott the game, to take a s to take s some kind of stance and make a protest if they are going to take some kind of stance or make some kind of gesture prior to uh each of these Israel games coming up over the next two Sunday evenings.
We're not aware of it yet.
What is the FAI’s stance on sponsorship and media exposure for the upcoming games?
Apparently their plans are that they'll discuss it after this Thursday's game against Kosovo.
Okay. I mean the the point that Hal Grimson made about this originally was if Ireland doesn't play the the games, effectively Israel gets six points for for their qual for their nations league uh and Ireland is is disadvantaged.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What did Ireland manager Hymer Al Grimson say that sparked the controversy?
0:00–1:06
2
How did the Israeli Football Association respond to Grimson’s comments?
1:06–2:35
3
Why are Irish players and fans calling for a boycott of the Israel fixtures?
2:35–3:31
4
What is the FAI’s stance on sponsorship and media exposure for the upcoming games?
3:31–4:46
5
How could a boycott or playing the matches affect Ireland’s Euro 2028 qualification?
4:46–5:58
6
Will the match results change the broader political debate around the games?
5:58–7:23