Hours before kick-off on Sunday, the Israeli Football Association announced that its players will wear black armbands against Ireland in the Nations League return leg, \u201cin memory of those murdered on October 7, 2023\u201d. The attacks killed 1,221 people according to official figures, and the match comes three days before their anniversary.<\/p>\n
\u201cUEFA has approved the Israel Football Association\u2019s request for the national team to wear black armbands in tonight\u2019s match against @IrelandFootball in memory of those murdered in the October 7 massacre\u201d, the federation wrote on its X account.<\/p>\n
Israel now wears the armbands Ireland wore in the first leg on 27 September: a 3-0 Irish win in Hungary, with black armbands then carried to protest against the war in Gaza. That evening had already turned sour: heads bowed during the Israeli anthem, no handshake between the captains, the match stopped twice, first by tennis balls in Palestinian colours thrown onto the pitch, then by a pitch invasion.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Ireland manager Heimir Hallgr\u00edmsson\u2019s press conference was cut short after questions from Israeli journalists. Israel captain Manor Solomon had warned before the rematch: \u201cThe next match against them is going to be completely different.\u201d<\/p>\n