Israel to wear black armbands in Ireland tie over Hamas attack

Jerusalem, Undefined (AFP) — Israel's national football team will wear black armbands in their Nations League clash against Ireland on Sunday to commemorate the victims of Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack, its football association said, after Irish players wore them to protest the war in Gaza.

The move comes a week after the teams played at a near-empty stadium in Hungary, with Irish players bowing their heads during Israel's national anthem and no exchange of handshakes over Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

The Israeli Football Association said Sunday that the request to wear black armbands had been approved by UEFA before the team faces Ireland in the small Serbian town of Backa Topola.

The Hamas-led attack was the deadliest in Israeli history and killed 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

The massive Israeli offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

The two matches against Israel have sparked controversy in Ireland, which has long supported the Palestinian cause.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has refused to host Israel at home for security reasons, following boycott calls.

Ireland's Nations League football match against Austria in Dublin on Thursday was twice briefly interrupted by demonstrations in support of the Palestinians.

Israel has been unable to host international matches on its own soil because of security risks since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

The first match went ahead in Hungary instead, with Ireland beating Israel 3-0 following a turbulent build-up in which the Irish squad voted to fulfil the fixture after goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu pulled out a day before the game.

On Saturday, Ireland's press conference was cut short as head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson fielded questions from Israeli journalists, including one about an Omani pilot's attack on a flydubai flight headed for Tel Aviv earlier in the week.

The Icelander sparked a diplomatic row over the games last month by saying: "We're not playing with genocide, we're playing against genocide. We're playing against Israel, we're not playing with Israel."

The Israeli association accused him of "stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy".