David Sneyd

IT SOON BECAME apparent that the FAI might jump at the first opportunity to try and reduce Heimir Hallgrímsson’s exposure to questions about Israel and the decision for the Republic of Ireland to fulfil their Nations League fixtures over the next couple of weeks.

Six seconds to be exact.

The Ireland boss had finished his squad announcement in front of the television cameras, speaking for roughly nine minutes before taking questions. To his credit, he explained how he spoke to players on and individual basis to gauge “the different strength of opinions” among them about playing Israel.

You quickly got the sense when Hallgrímsson moved to the FAI boardroom to speak with written journalists that he hoped he would be able to turn attention to football and focus on matters he was far more comfortable with.

“Hopefully I can do as much thinking and talking and focusing on the football side rather than all of those things,” Hallgrímsson said.

The lesser noise for me the better and the lesser noise for the players, they are more likely to perform better on the pitch. So that’s just my kind of take.”

That was never going to be the case here. Hallgrímsson didn’t even get asked one question on Troy Parrott during this session. Ordinarily, the striker’s impressive start to life at

Real Betis both in La Liga and the Champions League would be one of the key discussion points.

Nathan Collins’ absence for the next five weeks through injury was skipped over. Seamus Coleman’s exclusion was explained but Hallgrímsson’s admission that if he can’t find a club suitable to continue his career that he would love to have him on the coaching staff instead got just a cursory follow up.

None of this felt as relevant.

Nothing else does around this international window, even if Hallgrímsson was at pains to point out the importance of finishing first or second in the Nations League group to ensure second seeding for Euro 2028 qualifying.

That is a tournament Ireland will co-host, a matter which he would also reference in matters regarding not boycotting Israel and also the reasoning behind moving the home game from Dublin to behind closed doors in Serbia.

“It’s not my decision, but I think it’s dangerous not to play. We are hosting a Euros here. What if Israel is in our group in the Euros?

If there’s a risk factor, a security factor [playing in Dublin], then it’s others that would need to take a decision on that one and probably it was something on that sense. We are hosting the Euros. We don’t want to be seen as probably not being able to do that.”

Now back to those six seconds.

Hallgrímsson took his seat in the boardroom, a dozen or so reporters followed, looked for a seat and placed recorders in front of him. The floor was given over to questions by the FAI media officer, but no one spoke for those six seconds to allow everyone get settled.

“We can leave it if you want,” the FAI staffer said to fill the silence.

It would not be the last interjection.

Hallgrímsson comes across as a decent, thoughtful and engaging man. The Icelander expressed how it’s difficult to think of the words required in his native language and then speak in English.

To begin with, he also explained how he has come to realise why the Irish people might “process” the situation in Gaza and the ongoing devastation differently “because my background is not the same as yours.”

He admitted he was uncomfortable dealing with questions about Israel and a boycott, said he was “really happy” that FAI director of football John Martin fronted up on Monday before chief executive David Courell speaks to the media at Aviva Stadium on Friday morning.

A protest from the Stop The Games group is planned at the venue to coincide with Courell’s attendance.

Another protest is also scheduled for the day of the game with Austria in Dublin on 1 October, the fixture in this four-game window that is in the middle of Ireland’s meeting with

Israel in Hungary on 27 September and the encounter in Serbia on 4 October.

Courell also spoke to the Indo Sport Podcast on Thursday, explaining that he had made contact with Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin this week and that they were continually lobbying the available channels.

The CEO said the FAI could not act “unilaterally” in declaring a boycott of Israel and that it would be “ineffective” as they are only “powerful” if done in unison.

Even though we are not boycotting these fixtures, definitely the motions and the actions we’re bringing are being recognised increasingly on a global stage,” Courell said.

Back in the FAI boardroom, Hallgrímsson said Ireland “need to focus on the football side plus the opponents that we are playing need that respect from us otherwise we don’t perform well and that’s where we will be criticised.”

When it was pointed out that might not be the case, and that making a stand against Israel would be remembered far more by Irish supporters and public in years to come instead of where they finished in the group, Hallgrímsson wasn’t quite so sure that’s the case.

“Probably for some, definitely for others not. It’s not my decision if the game should be played or not. I’ve said it like a million times and it’s good that you have now a chance to talk to those who take those decisions.”

Then it became obvious that there was confusion and ambiguity on Hallgrímsson’s part about the consequences of boycotting the Israel games.

“I’m not clear on it. I think that’s for them who takes the decision on it. Probably they had, I’m not even sure if they asked the question what the sanction would be, but it’s unheard of that you don’t show up for games.

So probably it will need to be for the first time, it needs to be Uefa or Fifa [to set an example], whoever takes that decision.”

Back in July, ahead of the FAI EGM vote to decide on the contentious fixtures, the association sent a 2,300-word document to delegates of the General Assembly as well as the media outlining that there would be an immediate loss of €5.5 million to the association, citing “loss of Uefa participation income” with claims that a boycott could lead to “possible removal from Uefa competitions” and see that figure rise to €10.3m.

In that podcast interview on Thursday, Courell stood over those figures, insisting they were “legitimate” and referenced that part of their calculations were done on basis of Ireland spending one season in League C while noting that 56% of countries don’t come straight back up.

The recent format changes to the Nations League – announced earlier this week – mean finishing bottom of the group does not confirm relegation. A play-off with a country from League C would take place instead.

Two of the pertinent Uefa statutes are not definitive, either. The governing body states that although not fulfilling a fixture would mean its forfeited, its “disciplinary bodies may impose any further disciplinary measures deemed appropriate on the association concerned, including disqualification from the competition” while associations “may lose all rights to payments from Uefa, depending on the gravity of the circumstances.”

Hallgrímsson admitted again he does not know what the exact punishment could be. It seems staggering that the FAI could allow for such uncertainty.

“First of all, I don’t think that’s the rules, if you don’t play a game you just get kicked out of the competition. And what would that mean?

But I think just to say because the fourth team will [not] be relegated. I think that’s a cheap reason for not playing because it’s so many other factors around it.”

It was around this stage that the FAI staffer interjected after letting the back and forth flow.

“Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys, that’s eight minutes on Israel…. It’s a long time for him to be talking about it.”

Hallgrímsson, to his credit, did not it shut it down and continued when he was asked about Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s desire for politics to be kept out of football while at the same time Russia’s exclusion following the war with Ukraine is upheld.

“It’s the same like in games. You would like the referee to have the same rules consistently in the game and in all games. So if there’s a rule about something it should apply to everyone.

“Yeah, let’s not go into politics again. Gianni and the red card in the World Cup etc. It was politics that changed that, didn’t it? So, we just don’t like politics involved in the sports, but unfortunately they sometimes mix.”

Never more than now, and the legacy of the games ahead will last well beyond the weeks to come.