Uefa announced on Tuesday that it is opening a disciplinary probe following the Nations League match between the Republic of Ireland and Israel, which ended 1-1 and was marked by allegations of spitting in the half-time interval. The European governing body stated that it is reviewing the official reports and has appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector.
According to the Irish Times, the head of performance for the Republic of Ireland, Damien Doyle, alleged that he was spat at by an Israeli player. The head coach of the Republic of Ireland, Heimir Hallgrímsson, confirmed that there was "a spitting allegation" during the scuffle. The Football Association of Ireland was contacted for comment.
The match, played on 4 October 2026, took place in Backa Topka, Serbia, with no spectators. Both matches were played on neutral ground, with the teams in controversy from February when drawn to play each other in Group B3. Players from the Republic of Ireland faced calls to withdraw from the matches due to the war between Israel and Gaza. The campaign 'Stop the Game', organised by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine, staged protests before and during Thursday's match against Austria in Dublin.
Tensions flared in Serbia, with players from the Republic of Ireland and Israel clashing and ending the match. Hallgrímsson said after the match that he felt Israel was "trying to intimidate us from the start". "I give great credit to the players for remaining calm. It could have been a match of yellow and red cards, but we remained calm, the players were calm, they controlled their emotions well," said Hallgrímsson.
The Israeli head coach, Ran Ben-Shimon, said he saw "nothing" when asked about the incident at half-time. "At half-time I was in the locker room, in my room, with my coaching staff. I saw nothing. When I get the chance to check, I will let you know. I saw nothing, I was in my room," said Ben-Shimon.
Despite pressure for a boycott, the FAI decided to play both matches. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu was unavailable for both matches. The teams did not participate in pre-match formalities for either match, with Irish players bowing their heads during the Israeli national anthem.
