'Israel stopped caring': Irish columnist contrasts teams ahead of contentious soccer match

Ireland's discomfort ahead of its match against Israel stems from the knowledge that it has compromised its position, while Israel "stopped caring about that a long time ago," Irish Times columnist Ken Early wrote on Saturday.

In a sharply worded column, Early argued that Ireland simply wants to get through its matches against Israel without creating unnecessary problems, while Israel approaches the confrontation far more confidently. Ireland, he wrote, is caught between competing interests and fears it could harm itself.

Early began by noting that the word "uncomfortable" had repeatedly appeared in comments by senior Football Association of Ireland officials and national team coach Heimir Hallgrímsson.

Association CEO David Courell called it an "uncomfortable and unwanted" situation; Hallgrímsson acknowledged that some of his players "felt very uncomfortable playing the game," and technical director John Martin described it as a "very uncomfortable situation."

From there, Early reached his central conclusion: "Why do we feel uncomfortable? Because our position is a compromise. We feel that maybe we should not have played against Israel, but we are playing. We are aware of the noise and prefer to keep our heads down. We don't want trouble."

According to Early, that contradiction is also apparent in the association's conduct. Last November, its representatives voted by a 93% majority to call on UEFA to suspend Israel from European competitions, but in July, 68% voted to play the matches.

Early argued that the association does not want to alienate its supporters but at the same time "fears losing money and points from UEFA." He extended his criticism to the Irish government, which he said "does not want to risk its relations with the United States."

The columnist also addressed the controversy sparked by Hallgrímsson when he said last week, "We are not playing with genocide, we are playing against genocide."

The Israel Football Association responded sharply, accusing him of "stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy," while the Irish coach later acknowledged, "From a leadership perspective, maybe it wasn't wise of me to draw attention to myself like that."

According to the column, the Irish association even complained privately to UEFA about the Israeli response but refrained from another public confrontation.

Comparing Israel, Ireland

At this point, Early drew his central comparison between the two sides.

"Ireland wants to get through these games without creating unnecessary trouble. Israel stopped caring about that a long time ago," he wrote. "While the Irish association officials and players hesitate and try to find the right words, the Israelis speak with the confidence of believers."

As an example, Early cited Manor Solomon, who was asked by an Austrian journalist this week about comments made by Austria's president concerning the war in Gaza. Solomon questioned why he, as a soccer player, was expected to weigh in on the issue and made no attempt to hide his displeasure with the question.

Early noted that, unlike the Irish, the Israeli "did not look uncomfortable for even a moment," arguing that Solomon felt free to respond directly and forcefully to the journalist.

Early also linked this attitude to the Israeli decision not to exchange shirts after the match and to the fact that Israel's coach is not expected to shake Hallgrímsson's hand.

Column levels direct criticism at Ireland

According to Early, those steps reverse the picture: "The implication is that they, Israel, are the ones who have been offended, and that we, Ireland, are the ones who have made ourselves unworthy of respect."

The column, which also levels particularly harsh criticism at Israel, concludes with its most direct criticism of the Irish approach.

Ireland's players discussed the possibility of staging some form of protest before the match, but Early questioned what such a gesture would mean if they were going to take the field regardless.

"This is the fundamental contradiction Ireland has been struggling with all week," he wrote. "The only meaningful protest they could have made would have been to refuse to play. If the decision has been made that the game is going ahead, it is time to just play it."