Hallgrímsson calls on Uefa to keep Ireland and Israel apart in future after bad-tempered draw

The Republic of Ireland manager, Heimir Hallgrímsson, has called on Uefa to keep his side away from Israel in future draws after a pair of Nations League fixtures he said “has been tough on us all”. Ireland were pegged back to a draw in another tetchy encounter on Sunday, played without fans at TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Serbia.

Hallgrímsson did not want to comment on a half-time confrontation, after which a member of his backroom staff alleged he was spat at by an Israeli player. The Icelandic manager said that was better left to a disciplinary committee.

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“We need now some time to reflect and go forward,” he said. “It’s also the best time to find your enemies when you’re lying on the ground and people are kicking you. It’s easy to see who was trying to kick you.”

Asked on RTÉ whether the two sides should be playing in the future, he said: “No, they shouldn’t. That’s not ours to decide, that’s Uefa. I wouldn’t want or wish any national team to go through what we have gone through these two weeks. Uefa needs to step in and do something.”

On Monday, a spokesperson for the Israel FA denied anyone had spat “towards the coach”, understood to be the fitness coach Damian Doyle. They added that “our dream is still to play against [Ireland] in Dublin at Euro 2028”.

Troy Parrott’s first-half ­penalty was cancelled out after the break in the Group B3 game. Parrott, who has now scored 10 times in his past seven competitive internationals, fired the Republic in front from the spot in the 39th minute before Dor Peretz drew the sides level two ­minutes after the restart.

Ireland players again wore black armbands and bowed their heads ­during the Israel national anthem. The Israel players wore black armbands in memory of the people killed in the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023.

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The Ireland goalkeeper, Caoimhín Kelleher, stepped in as captain for Dara O’Shea – who was excused to be with his wife for the birth of their child – and he pointedly avoided shaking hands with Peretz, the Israel captain, despite completing the usual pre-match formality with the referee and one of his assistants.

That was a repeat of O’Shea’s actions before the first match in Debrecen, Hungary last week, when he declined to shake Manor Solomon’s hand. Ireland went on to win that game 3-0 through three first-half goals.

Solomon was dropped to the bench for Sunday’s match. The Israel forward Sayed Abu Farchi was back in the squad after serving a suspension for being sent off after his goal celebration during Israel’s 3-1 defeat to Austria last month.

Finn Azaz, whose mother has Israeli heritage, was among the Ireland substitutes after starting against Austria on Thursday.

Ireland had started to find some fluidity when Dunne won a penalty. The Israel goalkeeper, Assaf Tzur, scrambled to smother the ball and Jimmy Dunne was brought down under the challenge, with the spot-kick confirmed after a lengthy video assistant referee check.

Peretz levelled the scoring two minutes after the restart. An Oscar Gloukh effort took a favourable deflection off Liam Scales and into the path of the acting captain, who gave ­Kelleher no chance with a low finish.

The game was supposed to be played in Dublin, but the Football Association of Ireland moved the game to a neutral venue for “operational reasons” in June after widespread calls for a boycott in protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza. The FAI said the game would be played with no fans present. It followed the FAI’s own motion in November calling on Uefa to ban Israel from club and international competitions.

The difficult atmosphere between the sides spilled over as the sides entered the tunnel at half-time. Officials broke up a second altercation in added time and there were more heated words exchanged after the final whistle.