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Sport

Ireland players allege Adam Idah faced monkey chants in Israel win as UEFA rules out investigation

Ireland players allege Adam Idah was targeted with monkey chants by Israeli fans during the 3-0 Nations League win, but UEFA has told the FAI the allegation cannot be investigated because the correct protocols were not followed.

By Tom Ellery · · 2 min read

Israeli supporters have been accused of directing racist monkey chants at Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah during the teams’ UEFA Nations League match in Hungary on Sunday, which Ireland won 3-0. The 25-year-old, who was born to a Nigerian father and an Irish mother and was among the goal scorers, was targeted as videos circulating on social media showed — but the fans’ behaviour has gone unpunished by UEFA. (Al Jazeera)

Ireland midfielder Jayson Molumby, who heard the chants before half-time, asked the referee and the fourth official to listen to the alleged monkey chants, an FAI spokesperson was quoted as saying by The Irish Times. However, a UEFA delegate informed the FAI that an investigation could not be opened because Molumby did not explicitly mention racism to the officials and they had not heard any chanting. According to Irish media reports, UEFA confirmed that racist abuse towards Idah had occurred but said the matter could not be investigated because the protocols were not followed by Irish players and officials. Al Jazeera has reached out to UEFA and the FAI for comment. (Al Jazeera)

An Israeli supporter, Youseph Haddad — a member of an Israeli right-wing party and a candidate in the upcoming Israeli parliamentary elections — also filmed himself in the stands leading chants about the Israeli military: “Yes, we lose in football, but where we don’t lose,” he said, answering himself: Israeli forces. It remains unclear whether that would be categorised as negative behaviour under UEFA’s spectator rules. (Al Jazeera)

The match at the Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen had been in doubt until the day before, with the FAI and the squad under months of pressure to boycott over Israel’s war in Gaza. The game went ahead after a player vote, with Ireland wearing black armbands, bowing their heads during Israel’s anthem and skipping the pre-match handshakes. The sides meet again on 4 October in Backa Topola, Serbia. (Al Jazeera)

Sources

More on this topic: all Sport stories

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