THE SECOND OF two controversial Nations League matches between Ireland and Israel concluded last night in a near-empty stadium in Bǎcka Topola, Serbia.

This time, the teams levelled at 1-1: an improvement for Israel on the 0-3 defeat they suffered the previous weekend in Hungary.

The match was played on the anniversary in the Hebrew calendar of the 7 October attack by Hamas at a festival which killed over 1,300 people.

Sunday’s game, much like the previous, came with its own set of altercations. 

Damien Doyle, Ireland’s fitness coach, alleged that he was spat at by an Israeli player as the teams left the pitch at half-time.

And just as Ireland players bowed their heads for the Israeli anthem and wore black armbands for lives lost in Gaza, this time, Israeli players donned similar armbands to honour those who were killed in the 7 October attacks.

This, together with a series of late fouls against Jayson Molumby, can be added to contentions from the previous match that a small group of Israeli supporters performed monkey chants directed at striker Adam Idah.

The Journal and The 42 have reported extensively on the two matches, but what has been the reaction in Israeli media?

Panel members on Israel’s Channel 12, the country’s most-watched channel, described the Irish as hypocrites.

‘The hypocrisy of the Irish is unbelievable’

“The hypocrisy of the Irish is unbelievable,” said one panellist, speaking on the Morning News show. The panellist said that the Irish had recently shaken hands with the Afghan national cricket side – saying “that’s the same Taliban that oppresses and kills women”.

The panellist accused Ireland of hypocrisy and antisemitism over the different treatment of the Afghan and Israeli sports teams.

Israel’s Ynet, the digital platform of the Yediot Aharonot newspaper, had a piece leading with the detail that Ireland’s players bowed their heads during the Israeli anthem.

The piece went on to say that Ireland said it was hosting the game without an audience due to operational challenges but that the real reason for the decision was protests in Ireland against Israel.

‘Anti-Israeli incitement’

An article in Walla Sports, an Israeli sports news platform, started by referring to anti-Israeli incitement in the Irish media. 

The Sport 5 reported Israeli player Oscar Gloch as saying that Ireland doesn’t interest the Israeli team, that he didn’t even ‘look’ at the Irish side, and that the Israeli team came to win and doesn’t care who it is playing against.

Another article by Sport 5 quoted one of the Israeli players making accusations of ‘trash talk’ from the Irish side.

The player said the Israelis tried to come into the game focussed and to not fall into pettiness.

Meanwhile, Israeli TV i24 station did not receive a welcome when soliciting vox pops from members of the public.

“You’re not welcome here,” one person said, with other people shouting “free Palestine”. 

Watch how Israeli TV was welcomed to Dublin by the Irish https://t.co/YdedbnnMqj

— HatsOff (@HatsOffff) October 5, 2026