Israel Football Association

The FAI says that this is completely untrue.

Can you give any details of this alleged abuse? Which players were abused? Which players are accused? Does the Israel FA intend to take this matter to UEFA?

The only thing that I want to say is that our players told us that the trash talk between the Irish players and them was not like normal, not like other, other matches.

And we will think about that after the match.

And it wasn't just when Ida had it in the first half.

It was it was another one when a banquet in the second half, whether that's audible on the match footage, I don't know.

And I don't have like a close up video of Israel fans.

So, you know, in the sense that I can tell you that I heard it and I know others there also did, but it's different from the IDF chants where there is, you know, Yosef Haddad for sure made and posted a video of himself in among those fans singing for the IDF, you know.

And all of a sudden the cameras are on the people everyone in the room rather than those who are around the top table.

We had the Israeli press conference later on in the evening and again they were asked questions by Ken Early of the Irish Times and Second Captain's podcast where The Israeli FA came out last week and issued a statement that politics and football should never mix.

But then the fans last week were giving chants about the IDF towards the end of the game.

There was kind of a tense back and forth with the Israeli press officers who said, you know, the IDF is not a political entity.

and then said that they've confirmed that they have not spoken to UEFA about the allegation from the Israeli journalists earlier saying that Irish players racially abused Israeli players.

So it's interesting that they actually have not spoken to UEFA themselves.

The FAI have started liaising with UEFA around the racial accusations towards Adam Ida from the Israeli fans last week.

But Israel, as of now, are not reporting their own stance to UEFA.

Whereas I think if the players had been told a few months ago, particularly the leadership team, there's a lot of smart guys in there to say, by the way, this is what the Irish state say about Israel.

And this is what the FAI have said about Israel Football Association.

And this is what FIFA have said about the Israel Football Association.

We, you know, the FAI, I think, could still tell them, we think we should fulfill the fixtures.

But is there a way that we can draw a line from the Irish state's position on Israel to our position on Israel Football Association effectively? And I think there were just other options to a full boycott or playing in this kind of mealy-mouthed, we have to fulfill our fixtures in case of sanctions.

Like, I think there's a way that the players could say, we are absolutely playing under duress here.

We're playing because we want to fulfill football's rules and Israel FA aren't.

What rules? Israel's response now.

Israel Football Association IFA has told Newsweek it has no knowledge of any official report of racism insisting that the crowd at the match showed respect for the Irish national anthem.

After Israel fans were accused of targeting black Irish football player Adam Ida with racist chants.

So not only did they not do it, they were the opposite, very respectful.