'I won’t let emotion penetrate our squad': Israel manager clear on Ireland revenge mission
REVENGE: Head coach Ran Ben Simon and Ilay Feingold during an Israel media conference at the TSC Arena in Bačka Topola, Serbia. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Israel’s manager insists his team will cope better with the pressure of facing Ireland when the nations square up in a Nations League rematch on Sunday night.
Months of controversy crescendoed last week in Hungary when the Israelis didn’t take kindly to Ireland’s demonstrations and crumbled to a 3-0 defeat.
Ran Ben-Shimon says he takes responsibility for the footballing impact, noting how he trusts his federation employers to address the political dimensions engulfing the pair of fixtures.
“We felt the pressure and didn’t respond well,” he said, while confirming his captain, West Ham United’s Manor Solomon, is struggling to be fit due to a tight hamstring.
“I believe sometimes we can overthink on the pitch. I don’t think I did a good job of preparing them the last time.
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“I won’t let any emotion penetrate our squad. I’m not dealing with any politics. I want my team to be better technically and you will see a different Israel this time.”
Ireland’s players will once again refuse handshakes, don black armbands and bow their heads during the Israeli national anthem before the behind-closed-doors game kicks off at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola.
Several fallouts have emerged from last week’s first meeting, including allegations of racism. While the FAI are deliberating over whether to report chants from the small section of the Israeli fans towards two of their players, local Israeli media carried a midweek story accusing an Ireland player of abusing an opponent.
It transpires that this alleged incident was not reported to Uefa, albeit the Israeli delegation today reserved the right to do so once the final leg of this four-game window concludes on Sunday night.
“What we heard from our players was that the trash talk was not like normal,” said Eiton Dotan, the federation spokesman who flanked Ben-Shimon and player Ilay Feingold at the press conference.
“We will think about that after the match. Maybe in a few days we’ll review and speak to Uefa.”
He opened the event with a sarcastic remark about earlier developments at the Ireland equivalent. The FAI opted to end the live section of the press conference when an Israeli journalist asked Heimir Hallgrímsson for his thoughts on the alleged ‘monkey chants’ from one of his players.
“We still start with the Israel media because they didn’t get much of a chance to ask questions to the Irish earlier,” he pointedly said.
Once it got around to the Irish inquisitors, off-pitch matters dominated. When asked to reconcile last week’s declaration of separating sport and politics with chants of the Israel Defence Forces among the crowd, the federation denied any connection.
The matter of Solomon’s post-match comments was then raised, especially his contention that “Israel has a country 10 times better than theirs”.
Ben-Shimon wasn’t entertaining any public squabble, stating “I am just not going there, I am staying focused on the professional matters. Manor is a great human being. I wish all humans had his morals.”
He added: “Lot of things were said that shouldn’t have been said. We already have enough motivation.”
On the topic of Uefa keeping Ireland and Israel apart in future competitive draws, something floated by the FAI but dismissed by Uefa, the manager was once again struck a conciliatory tone.
“I have already had one divorce and it’s not pleasant,” he said as the question was framed as an amicable parting after two contentious games.
“I prefer that we stay to play against everyone and there’s no discrimination on who we face.”
Israel remain livid at being barred from playing at home. Fifa and Uefa imposed the condition of a neutral territory after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that sparked a brutal retaliation by Israel on the Palestinian population.
Before today’s press conference concluded, voluntarily their media chief delivered a message he felt would offer perspective to the acrimony surrounding these pair of matches contested seven days apart.
“After our match last Sunday, I met Irish fans in our hotel,” he began.
“They said the most enjoyable match they attended in the last 25 years was in 2005 in Tel Aviv - the hospitality, the parks, the celebration with Israeli fans.
“We received an email on the eve of the Debrecen game from an Irish fan who had not missed a game for 30 years aside from during Covid. So the Israel FA gave him a VIP ticket.
“We believe that football should be for everyone.”
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