The 42‘s David Sneyd is in position for the game, and we will be including some of his dispatches in this liveblog.
2 hrs ago
7:31PM
David Sneyd reports: “Uefa have banned two of the Israeli journalists from tonight’s post-match press conferences after their behaviour yesterday.
“The FAI had to bring a premature end to the pre-game duties after one reporter brought up the alleged hijacking of the FlyDubai plane, followed by another making an unfounded accusation of racist abuse against unnamed Irish players when the sides met last Sunday.”
A view of the Ireland and Israel flags during the warm up ahead of the match. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
2 hrs ago
7:41PM
Per AFP: “Israel’s national football team will wear black armbands in their Nations League clash against Ireland on Sunday to commemorate the victims of Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack, its football association said, after Irish players wore them to protest the war in Gaza.
“The move comes a week after the teams played at a near-empty stadium in Hungary, with Irish players bowing their heads during Israel’s national anthem and no exchange of handshakes.
“The Israeli Football Association said Sunday that the request to wear black armbands had been approved by Uefa before the team faces Ireland in the small Serbian town of Backa Topola.”
2 hrs ago
7:43PM
Here’s RTÉ reporter Tony O’Donoghue’s interview with Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrímsson ahead of the game.
Heimir Hallgrimsson confirms Jimmy Dunne replaces the absent Dara O'Shea for Israel game in Serbia, while Finn Azaz starts the game on the bench due to fitness - 'obviously emotional fitness is an important factor in players' #rtesoccer https://t.co/E9uNkWFa2j
Referee Juan Martínez Munuera speaks with Israel's Dor Peretz and Ireland’s goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher ahead of the match. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
A wide view of the match. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
2 hrs ago
8:07PM
From David Sneyd: “It should be noted that there are no advertisements around the side of the pitch. The FAI instead opted for Uefa messaging such as “Welcome All”, “Football All” and the “Uefa Foundation for Children”.
There are also details of the official Nations League app.
🗣️"THEY HAVE A PROPAGANDA MACHINE DENYING WHAT THEIR STATE ARE DOING TO THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE"
🗣️"THE IRISH MEDIA SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO BE THERE. WE SHOULDN'T BE PLAYING THE MATCH!"
Brian Kerr reacts to chaotic scenes in which Heimir Hallgrimsson's pre-match press conference had to be cut short after an Israeli reporter accused the Irish players of racially abusing the Israel players in last weekend's 3-0 win.
#VMSport #FAI #Israel #Palestine
From David Sneyd: ‘Keep moving it quick’ is the message from Troy Parrott, just before Jayson Molumby is caught with another needless foul. He’s then brought down again, with Ireland awarded a free kick.
From David Sneyd: “Parrott steps up to take the penalty just as a shout of ‘MISS’ comes from the Israel bench. He doesn’t miss.”
1 hr ago
8:34PM
So far, this game hasn’t been as fractious as last week, but there have been occasional signs of tension.
Liam Scales becomes the first Irish player to pick up a booking for a late challenge on the brink of half-time.
Israeli players Idan Nachmias and Dor Peretz have previously received yellows.
1 hr ago
8:34PM
HALF-TIME: IRELAND 1-0 ISRAEL
1 hr ago
8:36PM
There seems to have been some sort of disagreement on the sidelines as the players go off the field at half-time.
What exactly happened is unclear to me at the moment from the TV pictures, but we will try to find out more details.
1 hr ago
8:37PM
From David Sneyd: “‘Be clever, guys, please’ is the demand from the referee as there is a confrontation among some players and staff at the tunnel leaving the pitch for half time.
Ireland’s Troy Parrott celebrates after scoring the first goal of the match. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
1 hr ago
8:49PM
Tempers were starting to flare towards the end of that first half, particularly after Ireland went ahead.
It may well get more heated after the break, given the well-documented and longstanding animosity between the sides.
1 hr ago
8:49PM
The second half has begun…
1 hr ago
8:51PM
IRELAND 1-1 ISRAEL (PERETZ 47)
1 hr ago
8:52PM
From David Sneyd: “Confirmation at half-time that Ireland fitness coach Damien Doyle was allegedly spat at by an Israeli player as the sides left for half-time.”
Israel's Dor Peretz celebrates with teammates after scoring. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
1 hr ago
9:09PM
The last 48 hours prove @FAIreland should have refused to play Israel. Refusing would have shown leadership against an apartheid state waging a genocidal war. And it would have forced @UEFA to enforce its own rules against a rogue state.
1/The Israel FA won't condemn the behaviour of Israel fans chanting IOF songs against Ireland or against any other national team.
That’s because the Israel FA has already made full cooperation with the IOF part of its football strategy.
— Scottish Sport for Palestine (@ScotSport4Pal) October 4, 2026
Tempers flare between Ireland's Jayson Molumby and Israel's Oscar Gloukh. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
32 mins ago
9:51PM
The RTÉ/world feed coverage ends seconds after the final whistle, and without the delay of advertisements, the ninth instalment of the Fast & Furious franchise is showing on my TV.
It’s a strange end to a surreal international window.
We will leave it there too.
Thanks for reading.
We’ll have more reaction shortly from The 42‘s David Sneyd, who is reporting from the TSC Arena in Bačka Topola, Serbia.
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As it happened: Ireland v Israel, Nations League
An editorial note re: The 42’s reporting on the Uefa Nations League matches between Ireland and Israel is available to read here.
*****
Hello, and welcome to tonight’s liveblog.
Like last week, it will be different from our usual minute-by-minute reports.
You can read this note to understand why.
Confirmation of the Ireland team below.
Heimir Hallgrímsson has made four changes.
James Abankwah is suspended, and Dara O’Shea is unavailable due to the birth of his child. Finn Azaz and John Egan drop to the bench.
Jimmy Dunne, Jason Knight, Jayson Molumby and Jake O’Brien come into the starting XI.
The 42‘s David Sneyd is in position for the game, and we will be including some of his dispatches in this liveblog.
David Sneyd reports: “Uefa have banned two of the Israeli journalists from tonight’s post-match press conferences after their behaviour yesterday.
“The FAI had to bring a premature end to the pre-game duties after one reporter brought up the alleged hijacking of the FlyDubai plane, followed by another making an unfounded accusation of racist abuse against unnamed Irish players when the sides met last Sunday.”
Per AFP: “Israel’s national football team will wear black armbands in their Nations League clash against Ireland on Sunday to commemorate the victims of Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack, its football association said, after Irish players wore them to protest the war in Gaza.
“The move comes a week after the teams played at a near-empty stadium in Hungary, with Irish players bowing their heads during Israel’s national anthem and no exchange of handshakes.
“The Israeli Football Association said Sunday that the request to wear black armbands had been approved by Uefa before the team faces Ireland in the small Serbian town of Backa Topola.”
Here’s RTÉ reporter Tony O’Donoghue’s interview with Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrímsson ahead of the game.
As expected, Irish players bow their heads during the Israeli national anthem like they did last week.
There are no pre-match handshakes or the usual pleasantries exchanged between the sides.
The world-feed commentator has at least acknowledged that there was no handshake between the two captains.
Though there is no mention of why, or any reference at all to Gaza, the genocide Israel are committing and the various pre-match controversies.
The match is underway…
Meanwhile, elsewhere today…
From David Sneyd: “It should be noted that there are no advertisements around the side of the pitch. The FAI instead opted for Uefa messaging such as “Welcome All”, “Football All” and the “Uefa Foundation for Children”.
There are also details of the official Nations League app.
Here’s what former Ireland boss Brian Kerr had to say about Israel following yesterday’s shambolic press conference.
From David Sneyd: ‘Keep moving it quick’ is the message from Troy Parrott, just before Jayson Molumby is caught with another needless foul. He’s then brought down again, with Ireland awarded a free kick.
IRELAND 1-0 ISRAEL (PARROTT 39)
From David Sneyd: “Parrott steps up to take the penalty just as a shout of ‘MISS’ comes from the Israel bench. He doesn’t miss.”
So far, this game hasn’t been as fractious as last week, but there have been occasional signs of tension.
Liam Scales becomes the first Irish player to pick up a booking for a late challenge on the brink of half-time.
Israeli players Idan Nachmias and Dor Peretz have previously received yellows.
HALF-TIME: IRELAND 1-0 ISRAEL
There seems to have been some sort of disagreement on the sidelines as the players go off the field at half-time.
What exactly happened is unclear to me at the moment from the TV pictures, but we will try to find out more details.
From David Sneyd: “‘Be clever, guys, please’ is the demand from the referee as there is a confrontation among some players and staff at the tunnel leaving the pitch for half time.
Tempers were starting to flare towards the end of that first half, particularly after Ireland went ahead.
It may well get more heated after the break, given the well-documented and longstanding animosity between the sides.
The second half has begun…
IRELAND 1-1 ISRAEL (PERETZ 47)
From David Sneyd: “Confirmation at half-time that Ireland fitness coach Damien Doyle was allegedly spat at by an Israeli player as the sides left for half-time.”
Jayson Molumby is clearly not popular among the Israeli players.
He has been fouled on several occasions at this stage.
Yarin Levi gets booked for a cynical stamp on Troy Parrott – the first yellow of the second half, surprisingly.
There have been a couple of poor challenges in this game.
FULL-TIME: IRELAND 1-1 ISRAEL
The RTÉ/world feed coverage ends seconds after the final whistle, and without the delay of advertisements, the ninth instalment of the Fast & Furious franchise is showing on my TV.
It’s a strange end to a surreal international window.
We will leave it there too.
Thanks for reading.
We’ll have more reaction shortly from The 42‘s David Sneyd, who is reporting from the TSC Arena in Bačka Topola, Serbia.
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