Ireland refuse Israel handshakes in Nations League win

Republic of Ireland players did not shake hands with their Israel counterparts before the Uefa Nations League match in Debrecen, Hungary, on 27 September 2026, and bowed their heads while Israel’s national anthem was played.

Ireland captain Dara O’Shea and Israel captain Manor Solomon also did not exchange the usual pennants before kick-off. Ireland went on to win the game 3-0, BBC Sport reported.

Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said afterwards that the players had “raised awareness worldwide” through their actions. “It has been so difficult for so many players,” Hallgrimsson told broadcaster RTE after the match, adding that the squad had “shown support to the protest” and that raising awareness “is normally the reason for protesting”.

The fixture, played at a neutral venue, has been contentious since the two sides were drawn together in February 2026. A campaign called “Stop The Game”, organised by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine, had urged the Ireland squad to withdraw from the games over the war in Gaza. More than 160 Irish athletes signed an open letter in the days before the match calling on the team not to play.

The Ireland players voted to fulfil the fixture during a meeting at their hotel in Debrecen on 26 September 2026. Football Association of Ireland chief executive David Courell said the vote passed by a “significant majority”. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew from the squad the same day, saying it “would be wrong to participate” in the game and the return fixture in Backa Topola, Serbia, on 4 October.

The Ireland players wore black armbands, which Courell said were worn “in recognition of all lives lost in the [Gaza] conflict”. After scoring Ireland’s third goal, Jack Moylan removed the armband and kissed it before kissing the team’s badge.

Tensions between the two football associations had risen in the days before the match. The Israel Football Association accused Hallgrimsson of “ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity” after Hallgrimsson said Ireland were “not playing with genocide” but “playing against genocide”. Speaking on 26 September 2026, Hallgrimsson said it had been “a wrong word for me to use”, while Israel FA head of communications Shlomi Barzel said Barzel would not apologise for the association’s response but would “take back the word stupidity”.

The armed Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel then launched a military offensive in Gaza in which more than 73,000 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. Israel has repeatedly denied committing genocide or war crimes, saying its operations have been conducted in self-defence and in line with international law.

The two teams meet again in the return fixture in Backa Topola on 4 October.