FAI tells Uefa about ‘challenging experiences’ for Irish team in games against Israel

The FAI chief executive David Courell and president Paul Cooke have both relayed to Uefa members the “challenging experiences” of Ireland players and staff during the recent Nations League games against Israel.Courell and Cooke both spoke during the annual gathering of Uefa executive leaders from all 55 member associations in Berlin on Thursday.The FAI had previously asked European football’s governing body to keep Ireland and Israel apart in future Nations League, European Championship and World Cup qualification campaigns.This position was reiterated after the recent fixtures in Hungary and Serbia have led to the possibility of three separate investigations.READ MOREUefa appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector this week to gather evidence following a claim by Damien Doyle, the FAI head of athletic performance, that he was spat on by an Israeli player at half-time last Sunday during the second meeting between the countries in Backa Topola, Serbia.A spokesperson for the Israel Football Association denied the allegation, saying “no one had spat towards the [Irish] coach.”Both associations are considering separate reports to Uefa about allegations of racist behaviour during the first game in Hungary on September 27th.Ireland midfielder Jayson Molumby said he heard racist chants from Israeli fans directed at one of his team-mates, Adam Idah, during the game at the Nagyerdei stadium in Debrecen. The Israeli media reported that a source within their national squad claimed to hear a racist comment by an Irish player, also in the Hungary game. The Israel FA have yet to report this to Uefa.Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson stated that Uefa should consider keeping the nations apart ahead of the Euro 2028 draw on December 6th.“They can’t have this happening again, just for the players’ welfare,” he said.Any Uefa decision to separate Ireland and Israel will need to be agreed by the national teams competitions committee, that will next meet in November, before it sends a recommendation to the executive committee. Currently, Armenia and Azerbaijan; Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo; Serbia and Kosovo; Spain and Gibraltar; and Ukraine and Belarus cannot been drawn together in Nations League or qualification groups.Meanwhile, the Uefa president Aleksander Čeferin has backtracked on his previous decision not to stand for re-election, until 2031, at Congress in Kazakhstan next April.Čeferin has held the position since he replaced Michel Platini in 2016.“There is still important work ahead, and I have therefore accepted the [national associations] request [to continue],” Čeferin said. “My ambition remains the same: to keep European football united, make our game stronger and leave Uefa ready for the next generation.”Uefa continue to call on Fifa president Gianni Infantino to resign. They are also demanding a reform of the global body’s institutional governance following Infantino’s attempt to sell a commercial stake in the World Cup to a private equity firm.