'A loss for Irish football': Ireland victory over Israel leaves sour taste

'A loss for Irish football': Ireland victory over Israel leaves sour taste Oscar Rickett on Mon, 09/28/2026 - 12:39 Ireland won 3-0 against Israel in Hungary, but many at home had campaigned for the game not to happen Israel fans wave flags after the Israel v Republic of Ireland match at Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen, Hungary, 27 September 2026 (Bernadett Szabo/Reuters) Off Ireland’s football team beat Israel 3-0 in Hungary on Sunday night in a Uefa Nations League game many believed should never have taken place. Ireland’s players wore black armbands in memory of those killed in Israel’s Gaza genocide, bowed their heads while the Israeli national anthem played, and refused to shake the hand of their Israeli counterparts.   The smattering of Israeli fans in the stands booed Ireland’s players, shouted “Fuck Ireland” and chanted “IDF, IDF!” in tribute to Israel’s army. Yoseph Haddad, a former Israeli soldier turned online influencer and Knesset candidate for the newly formed Amcha Yisrael party, filmed the chants. “Israel’s national team lost to Ireland on the field, but let the antisemites not celebrate too much – because what really matters is that the IDF will defeat the terrorists that they support!” Haddad posted. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In a video message attached to the post, Haddad said: “So yes, we lose on football, yes. But you know where we don’t lose? The IDF. We always win. So maybe the football Irish team beat us on the football field, but they will never ever break the Israeli spirit.”  Israel's captain Manor Solomon, who plays for West Ham in England, said that the Irish players had "said stupid things during the game". "Obviously they hate us and we don't like them," he said. "We have a country ten times better than theirs... We're proud to be Israelis, proud of our country, proud of our soldiers..." Israel has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians in Gaza since 7 October 2023, includi