Ahead of the matches, pressure mounted on the Irish Football Association to boycott games against Israel over Israel's war against the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza and the difficult situation facing civilians. The Irish national team nevertheless chose to play the matches.
The Israeli journalists' deportation followed an incident at an earlier press conference during the Nations League tie. An Israeli journalist had asked questions about a high-profile incident in which a co-pilot is suspected of trying to crash an aircraft flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
Angered and halted press conference
Another Israeli journalist accused Irish players of racist abuse of Israeli players. The questions angered Ireland's communications director, Kieran Crowley, so much that he interrupted the press conference.
Serbian police were later called to the scene after one of the Israeli journalists was attacked by an Irish press officer.
The Nations League matches between Israel and Ireland, played at a neutral venue, have been marked by controversy and strong reactions.
Refused to shake hands
The Irish national team players have expressed their criticism in various ways, including by wearing black armbands on their match shirts as a symbol of “all the lives lost in the conflict”. They also refused to shake hands with the Israeli players, angering Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has accused the Irish national team of “standing on the wrong side of history” and compared the players' actions to Irish footballers performing the Nazi salute during an international match in Bremen, Germany, in 1939.
The European football governing body, Uefa, has decided that Israel's home matches in the Nations League B division will be played at a neutral venue.
Ireland won the first match 3–0. The second match ended 1–1.
