British media including the BBC reported that the UEFA Nations League match between Ireland and Israel, held amidst controversy, took place in a chilly atmosphere today (September 28, Korea time).

Irish players at the Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen, Hungary, bowed their heads today as the Israeli national anthem was played.

While it is customary for players from both teams to shake hands after the playing of national anthems in A-matches, no such handshake took place on this day.

There was also no pennant exchange between the two team captains.

Controversy has persisted ever since the two countries were drawn together in Group B3 during the draw held last February.

Ireland is known as a country with strong pro-Palestinian sentiment in Europe.

Calls continued for the Irish national team to boycott the match citing the Israel-Hamas war.

The "Stop The Game" campaign, led by the group "Irish Sport for Palestine," also gained momentum.

Tensions between the two teams reached a peak a week before the match when the Israel Football Association (IFA) criticized Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson (Icelandic), calling him "ignorant, hypocritical, and foolish."

This was a response to Hallgrimsson's earlier remarks that "we are not playing with genocide, we are playing against genocide."

Despite loud calls for a boycott, the Irish squad decided to proceed with the match as scheduled after holding a lengthy meeting at their hotel in Debrecen the day before the game.

However, goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu left the national team.

He explained his reason to local media by stating that he felt it was "not right" to participate in the two-legged group stage matches against Israel.

The Irish players took to the pitch wearing black armbands.

David Courell, CEO of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), explained that it was "intended to honor all lives lost in the Gaza conflict."

Jack Moylan, who scored the sealing goal in Ireland's 3-0 victory, celebrated by kissing his armband and then the FAI emblem on his jersey.

When the Irish players stepped onto the pitch for their pre-match warm-ups, a small group of Israeli fans booed them.

Manager Hallgrimsson said, "This has been the hardest week of my managerial career, and it probably has been for most of the players as well," adding, "We have a lot of young players in the squad that we need to take care of."

He continued, "I know many players had mixed feelings about this match, and our job is to protect all of them."

The war has entered its third year, following the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which was met with a large-scale military operation by Israel.

The United Nations estimates that more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel's retaliatory strikes.

A history of foreign domination lies behind the strong pro-Palestinian sentiment in Ireland.

Having long been under British rule, Ireland tends to view the plight of Palestinians through the lens of its own past experience, and this sense of solidarity is particularly prominent among Irish nationalists in Northern Ireland, which remains under British rule today.

Israel has repeatedly denied allegations of committing genocide and war crimes, maintaining that its military operations in the Gaza Strip are justified as an exercise of the right to self-defense.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)