Micheal Martin calls on Israel FA to withdraw remarks about Ireland manager

Irish prime minister Micheal Martin has called on the Israel Football Association to withdraw comments attacking Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson. BBC Sport reported that Martin described the remarks as unacceptable, intervening in a dispute between the coach and Israel's governing body before two Nations League meetings between the countries.

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The Israel FA's criticism followed comments Hallgrimsson made last week about the fixtures and the war in Gaza. The manager said his team would be playing against Israel, not alongside it, and used the term genocide in explaining his position. In a post on X on Monday, the association responded by accusing Hallgrimsson of ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity.

Martin addressed the exchange while speaking to reporters in New York, where he was attending the United Nations General Assembly. He defended Hallgrimsson's comments by referring to the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and remarks by UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres. The Football Association of Ireland had not responded to the Israel FA's statement, according to BBC Sport's report.

The dispute has unfolded alongside pressure within Ireland for the national side not to play the matches. A protest took place at the Republic of Ireland team's hotel in Dublin on Monday. It followed an open letter from the Irish Sport for Palestine Group, signed by more than 160 Irish sportspeople, asking the FAI to withdraw from the fixtures because of the situation in Gaza.

The teams are scheduled to meet twice within a week, with both games taking place at neutral venues. Israel's designated home match is due to be played in Debrecen, Hungary, on Sunday. The return fixture is scheduled for 4 October in Backa Topola, Serbia. The boycott demands reported by the BBC were calls for withdrawal, rather than an announcement that either match had been cancelled.

Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. It maintains that its military operations in Gaza have been carried out in self-defence and in compliance with international law. Martin's intervention focused on withdrawing the football association's remarks about Hallgrimsson; the report did not announce a change to Ireland's participation in the fixtures.