Accusations of racism and spitting allegations ignite a crisis between Ireland and Israel, amid Irish demands to separate the two national teams in upcoming tournament draws and anticipated investigations by the European Football Association (UEFA).
The Chief Executive of the Football Association of Ireland, David Colrell, and the President of the Association, Paul Cook, conveyed to UEFA officials what they described as the difficult experiences that the Irish national team players and members of its technical staff had during the last two matches against Israel in the UEFA Nations League.
The Irish officials' statements came during the annual meeting of leaders of UEFA's member associations, held in the German capital, Berlin, last Thursday, amid rising tensions following the events that accompanied the two matches.
The Irish Football Association had previously demanded that its national team be kept away from Israel in the draws for the World Cup and European Championship qualifiers, as well as the UEFA Nations League competitions, and renewed its position after the two matches that were held in Hungary and Serbia.
The incident faces the possibility of opening three separate investigation tracks, after UEFA appointed an ethics and discipline inspector to gather evidence regarding the claim by Damien Doyle, the Irish national team's physical performance manager, that he was spat on by an Israeli player during halftime of the match held last Sunday in the Serbian city of Bačka Topola.
In response, a spokesman for the Israeli Football Association denied the accusation, asserting that no one spat in the direction of the Irish coach.
The two federations are also considering submitting separate reports to UEFA regarding allegations of racist behavior during the first match, which took place in the Hungarian city of Debrecen on September 27.
Ireland midfielder Jason Mulholland said he heard racist chants from Israeli fans targeting his teammate Adam Idah during the match, while Israeli media quoted a source within the national team claiming to have heard a racist comment made by an Irish player in the same game.
According to the report, the Israeli Football Association did not file a formal complaint with UEFA regarding this incident.
For his part, Ireland national team coach Heimir Hallgrímsson called on UEFA to consider separating the two teams in future draws, stressing the need to prevent a recurrence of such incidents in order to protect the safety and well-being of the players.
UEFA's national teams competitions committee is scheduled to meet in November, before making a recommendation to the executive committee regarding any possible decision.
The European Union already applies restrictions that prevent a number of teams from being placed in the same group, for political and security reasons, including Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serbia and Kosovo, Spain and Gibraltar, and Ukraine and Belarus.
In a separate development, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin announced that he has reversed his previous decision not to run for a new term, confirming that he has responded to the request of national associations to continue leading the European Union until 2031, with elections to be held during the UEFA Congress in Kazakhstan next April.
UEFA is also continuing to pressure FIFA President Gianni Infantino, demanding his resignation and reform of the governance system within the international federation, following his attempt to sell a commercial stake linked to the World Cup to a private investment company, a move that has sparked European objections.
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