An Israeli player has been accused of spitting at a member of the Ireland coaching staff during Sunday night’s contentious Nations League match.
Ireland were playing their second game against Israel in the Serbian town of Bačka Topola behind closed doors.
Just as they had done in the first game, the Irish players wore black armbands and refused to shake hands with the Israeli team.
However, tensions boiled over at half-time as both teams made their way to the dressing rooms.
Ireland’s fitness coach Damien Doyle was seen complaining after an incident involving an unnamed member of the Israeli side.
There was a brief altercation between the players and coaches, which Spanish referee Juan Martínez Munuera was forced to break up.
He is not thought to have seen the spitting incident.
Prior to the game, UEFA confirmed that the two Israeli journalists whose questions led to an abrupt end to Heimir Hallgrímsson’s pre-match press conference had been barred from attending either manager’s post-match briefing.
One Israeli journalist attempted to ask Hallgrímsson if he supported an “ideology based on murder” – in reference to an attempt to crash an airplane flying to Tel Aviv.
Another made a claim that “your players called our players monkeys during (last Sunday’s) match” – and he was quickly cut off by the FAI media officer Kieran Crowley.
He hit back, saying: ‘That’s completely untrue, that is completely untrue, that is completely untrue.’
As Crowley led Hallgrímsson and the Irish media away, the reporter continued to make accusations.
FAI officials are in the process of reviewing audio from sideline microphones after Jayson Molumby approached the referee last Sunday to complain about racist chants aimed at Adam Idah and James Abankwah from the Israeli supporters.
There were no supporters in the ground for Sunday night’s game, which was played behind closed doors.
Troy Parrott had put Ireland ahead after Ireland were awarded a penalty in the first half.
The match finished 1-1, with Israel equalising shortly after half-time.
