Arabic version: انتهاء المؤتمر الصحفي لإيرلندا بعد مزاعم عن العنصرية

According to BBC News, Republic of Ireland’s pre-match news conference ahead of Sunday’s Nations League Group B3 game against Israel in Serbia ended abruptly after questions concerning alleged racism and an incident involving a flight to Tel Aviv.

Manager Heimir Hallgrimsson had spent more than 11 minutes discussing the match, the demands of a four-game international window and Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Austria. He said Dara O’Shea, who is captaining the side in injured captain Nathan Collins’ absence, was away because his wife was due to give birth. O’Shea could return to Backa Topola before the 19:45 BST kick-off.

As the broadcast section of the conference was ending, Hallgrimsson was asked about Wednesday’s incident in which a co-pilot attacked a pilot on a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight before passengers overpowered the attacker. A further question concerned alleged racism by Irish players during last Sunday’s 3-0 win over Israel in Hungary.

Hallgrimsson said he would not be drawn into either matter, saying it was an emotional game and that issues reported by both teams would go through processes involving the relevant departments and Uefa. Football Association of Ireland head of communications Kieran Crowley then ended the conference, describing the allegations against Irish players as “completely untrue”. The FAI is also investigating reports that Ireland striker Adam Idah received racist abuse from Israel fans in Debrecen.

Hallgrimsson said the squad has used group prayer before recent matches to “cool our heads” before taking the pitch, led by midfielder Conor Coventry. The Israel fixtures have prompted calls for a boycott, while goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew from the games and protests took place during Ireland’s match against Austria. Hallgrimsson said the group’s togetherness had been its most pleasing feature during a difficult camp.