An Irish soccer official grabbed the microphone from an Israeli reporter and shut down his question after he confronted Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrímsson over allegations that Irish players called Israeli players “monkeys” during their previous match.
The heated confrontation comes ahead of Sunday’s Israel-Ireland rematch following a bitter first meeting in which Irish players wore black armbands, refused to shake hands with the Israelis and defeated Israel 3-0.
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson was asked by a journalist, who refused to give up the microphone, about alleged racism by Irish players during last Sunday’s 3-0 win over Israel in Hungary.
The news conference was brought to a close at that point by Football… pic.twitter.com/4WGptvefdN
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) October 3, 2026