FM Sa’ar: ‘Irish players fly the black flag of jihadism’ ahead of Israel-Ireland match
Sa'ar attacked Ireland for only upholding its neutrality when it came to Nazi Germany, while criticising their decision to wear black armbands for the Israel-Ireland game
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar criticised the Irish National Soccer Team for choosing to wear black armbands when facing Israel at the UEFA Nations League game being held in Debrecen, Hungary on Sunday.
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Sa'ar's comments came in response to the news that the Irish team had voted to go ahead with its UEFA Nations League game against Israel
Sa'ar commented that when the Irish team arrived in Bremen in May 1939, "To 'honor the hosts' – the Irish players stood before the opening whistle and saluted with a raised hand while the notorious German anthem 'Deutschland über alles' was played."
He attacked Ireland for only upholding its neutrality when it came to Nazi Germany, while criticising their decision to wear black armbands for this game saying "Then they saluted with a raised hand. Now, they are clearly on the side of Palestinian terror. Upon the black armbands the Irish players will wear tonight, flies the black flag of jihadism."
The decision to wear black armbands was made after Irish goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu announced he would not play Israel.
The head of the Football Association of Ireland, David Courell, said thata player’s "discomfort with fulfilling this fixture" had caused the rest of the squad to debate whether the game should go forward. He said a vote was taken among the players and that “a significant majority” favored continuing with the games.
Courell continued, saying that the team was uncomfortable fielding non-soccer-related questions and would not be taking questions from the media before and after the match.
In addition to the vote, pressure from UEFA was also a factor in the Irish team’s decision to proceed with the game, according to a report in Ynet. UEFA reportedly threatened repercussions for the FAI, which could harm its ability to host the UEFA Euro 2028 cup with England, Scotland, and Wales.
There arelso reports that Finn Azaz, an Irish-Israeli player, gave an impssaioned speech to his teammates to convince them to proceed with the game. His grandfather was Israeli artists Nehemia Azaz.
Responding to reports that the Irish team would refuse to shake hands with the Israeli team, Dor Peretz said, "I think we’re going to put out our hands to show respect, but if they don’t want to shake hands, that’s ok."