Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson was torn between respecting the right of fans to protest the visit of Israel to the Aviva Stadium for a Nations League match on October 4th and the disruption it caused during Ireland’s 1-0 win over Qatar.
“Everybody has a right to protest,” said Hallgrímsson after Thursday’s friendly at the Aviva. “It just kills a game. If they want to destroy the game for us then, so be it. Obviously it’s not fun to see, especially for us, who are trying to think about the football side.”
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There were three incidents, in the 10th, 20th and 30th minutes when fans on the west upper tier of the stadium flung tennis balls, branded with ‘Stop the Game’, on to the pitch in protest over the FAI’s decision to fulfil the fixture against Israel.
“It didn’t bother me much,” he continued. “We might have liked the protest in the second half when we would have liked to kill the game. Everybody has a right to protest, but thinking about the football side, it is not fun to watch a game that needs to be stopped again and again.”
International Friendly, Aviva Stadium, Dublin 28/5/2026
Republic of Ireland vs Qatar
Ireland’s Seamus Coleman surrounded by tennis balls thrown onto the pitch
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
The protest was led by a group called ‘The League of Ireland fans for Palestine,’ which released a statement after Thursday’s game noting the “slaughter of more than 1,000 athletes and coaches, including at least 421 football players, in Gaza since October 2023.”
The statement added: “We took this action at the Aviva tonight to show the FAI and the Government we are serious about stopping the autumn matches [against Israel]. This campaign is only getting started.”
On Jack Moylan’s straight red card by referee Jamie Robinson for catching Jassem Gaber’s foot in a tackle before half-time, Hallgrímsson said: “I thought it was just a wrong decision, a mistake from the referee.
“We all make mistakes but it was costly for Jack who was having a really good first-half, leading the pressure on our left side. We locked Qatar in, Jack, Scalesy [Liam Scales] and Troy [Parrott] put pressure on them.
“It was a big loss for us but we opted to keep the back five so it was a tough shift for Seamie [Coleman] and [Liam] Scalesy up and down. We were disciplined, not chasing them all over, and focused, only jumping when we needed to. It was a good test, if it happens again.”