Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said he felt Israel were “trying to intimidate” his team amid allegations of spitting during Sunday’s tense Uefa Nations League draw.
The teams clashed at half-time in the 1-1 draw, played behind closed doors in Serbia, with the Irish Times, external reporting that Republic of Ireland head of athletic performance Damien Doyle alleged he had been spat at by an Israel player.
On television pictures, a voice can be heard saying “he spat on me” as the players made their way down the tunnel at TSC Arena.
“I don’t want to get involved in that, but it’s been like this these two games. It’s tense, it’s a lot of emotions,” Hallgrimsson told Off The Ball, external when asked about the incident.
“[It] was an accusation of spitting on someone but I didn’t see it. No, we don’t want to talk about this. This will be reviewed, probably like everything else that’s happened between the two teams.
“I felt like they were trying to intimidate us from kick-off but I give a lot of credit to the players to stay calm. It could have been a game of yellow and red cards but we were composed, the players were composed, they did well in controlling emotions.”
Asked about the half-time incident, Israel head coach Ran Ben-Shimon said he “didn’t see anything”.
“[At] half-time I was in the dressing room, my room, with my staff,” he said.
“I didn’t see anything. When I get the chance to check I will get back to you.”
