Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has admitted that his remarks about the war in Gaza came at the wrong moment, with his side preparing for a decisive UEFA Nations League meeting with Kosovo.
The Ligue 1 news
Speaking on Wednesday, the Icelandic coach said it had not been “smart” to make comments that shifted attention away from Ireland’s immediate task.
Hallgrimsson had prompted strong reactions last week when he said: “We are not playing with genocide; we are playing against genocide. We are facing Israel, not playing with Israel.”
With Ireland due to meet Israel twice in the Nations League, he accepted that the headlines created by his words had taken focus away from Thursday’s match against Kosovo.
“The headlines drawn from what I said distracted from what may be the most important thing: we have an important game against Kosovo,” Hallgrimsson said at his pre-match press conference. “It was not smart of me to divert the attention in that way.”
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin backed the Ireland coach on Tuesday.
Ireland’s next appointment
Ireland play Kosovo on Thursday at 20:45 before travelling for their first Nations League match against Israel.
That fixture will be staged on neutral ground in Debrecen, Hungary, on Sunday. The teams will meet again seven days later in Backa Topola, Serbia.
