Ireland were held to a 1-1 draw in the second of their two Nations League clashes with Israel, after winning the first 3-0.
Sunday’s game was played behind closed doors and in a subdued atmosphere in Backa Topola, Serbia after calls to boycott one of the most controversial matches in football due to the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.
A tetchy game was marred by a spat between the two sides and their staff as they headed down the tunnel at half-time, with referee Juan Martinez Munuera quickly intervening and warning them both to “be clever”.
Troy Parrott opened the scoring six minutes before half-time after Jimmy Dunne was brought down by Israel goalkeeper Assaf Tzur in the box. Parrott was cool and composed from the spot, firing home his fourth goal of this international window, but Israel looked a different side after the restart, with Dor Peretz quickly equalising with a tidy run behind the Irish defence.
Both keepers were called into action several times in a more competitive half, with Tzur making a fingertip save from substitute Chiedozie Ogbene and Oscar Gloukh and Omri Gandelman hitting the post, but neither side could find a winner in the Group B3 clash.
Follow all the action in our live blog below:
Ireland v Israel - live updates
- Ireland held to frustrating 1-1 draw in second Nations League clash with Israel
- Controversial Nations League rematch took place in Backa Topola, Serbia
- '47 GOAL! Dor Peretz scores equaliser as Israel make fast start to second half [Ireland 1-1 Israel]
- '39 GOAL! Troy Parrott scores penalty after Jimmy Dunne brought down by keeper [Ireland 1-0 Israel]
- Ireland won 3-0 last weekend as Irish players wore black armbands and lowered their heads during the Israeli national anthem
Ireland and Israel share spoils in ill-tempered Nations League clash behind closed doors
22:46 , Flo Clifford
Troy Parrott’s first-half penalty was cancelled out after the break as the Republic of Ireland played out a 1-1 Nations League draw with Israel behind closed doors in Serbia.
The Republic’s ‘home’ fixture was held on neutral territory at the 4,500-seat TSC arena in Backa Topola, due to “operational challenges” amid an ugly atmosphere between the two sides due to tensions over the Israel-Gaza war.
Parrott, who has now scored 10 times in his last seven competitive internationals, fired the Republic in front from the spot in the 39th minute before Dor Peretz drew the sides level two minutes after the restart.
Ireland by Israel in ill-tempered Nations League clash behind closed doors
Ireland's Nations League record
21:56 , Flo Clifford
At the end of this international window Ireland have registered a defeat against Kosovo (which puts them below them in the B3 table), a win and draw against Israel and a draw against current table toppers Austria.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:50 , Flo Clifford
There didn’t appear to be any outright animosity between the two teams at full-time, with both quick to get out of that eerily empty stadium.
With Ireland and Israel having now played both their Nations League fixtures against each other, there won’t be any repeats of that in the next international break, when Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side play Austria and Kosovo again.
How things stand in Group B3
21:46 , Flo Clifford
Dropping points against Israel means Ireland sit three points off Group B3 leaders Austria after four fixtures played, level on points with Kosovo. Israel are bottom, three points further back.
Full Nations League results
21:44 , Flo Clifford
Wales 0-1 Denmark
Republic of Ireland 1-1 Israel
Greece 0-0 Germany
Netherlands 2-1 Serbia
Portugal 2-1 Norway
FULL-TIME! Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:40 , Flo Clifford
A frustrating draw for Ireland having led at half-time and having had chances to win it late on, the best of them Ogbene’s half-volley well saved by Tzur.
FULL-TIME! Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:37 , Flo Clifford
‘90+4: Levi gets a yellow for his foul too, but Vata’s free-kick fails to beat the first man, and that’s it!
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:36 , Flo Clifford
‘90+3: Levi catches Parrott and concedes a free-kick, and there’s a bit of a spat, while Gloukh gets a telling-off from the referee.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:34 , Flo Clifford
‘90: Three minutes added on. Shua blasts an attempt over the bar.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:32 , Flo Clifford
‘89: Into the closing stages. Israel have a corner but Kelleher makes a good claim.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:27 , Flo Clifford
‘84: Nervy moments as Kelleher closes down Shua and comes right out of his area to make the save, but the flag goes up for offside anyway.
More Irish changes: Lawal and Bagan on, Manning and Coventry off.
OFF THE POST! Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:23 , Flo Clifford
‘80: Scales makes a poor clearance and Israel come back, and Gloukh hits the post on the volley! He’s been a real threat, especially in this second half.
Into the final 10 minutes. Anyone got a winner in them?
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:21 , Flo Clifford
‘78: More Israeli changes. Feingold and goalscorer Dor Peretz make way for Dasa and Shua.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:20 , Flo Clifford
‘77: The resulting corner is headed towards goal but Israel clear. Now Parrott threads it through to Ogbene again but Israel crowd out the box. A much better spell from Ireland.
SAVE! Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:18 , Flo Clifford
‘74: Great save by Tzur! Parrott knocks the ball down for substitute Ogbene, who hits a sweet half-volley that looks destined for the roof of the net - but Tzur leaps to palm it over the bar!
OFF THE POST! Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:16 , Flo Clifford
‘73: Gloukh drives forward and releases Gandelman, who takes it on the turn under pressure from two defenders and just clips the post! Kelleher dives the right way but wouldn’t have got there. Israel are really probing at the moment.
Israel have also made another change - Abada off for Solomon.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:13 , Flo Clifford
‘70: Time for a couple of Irish changes: Vata and Ogbene are brought on, Idah and Moylan off.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:12 , Flo Clifford
‘68: Ireland have a free-kick in dangerous range on the right; Manning lifts it over the wall and goes for goal but runs into traffic. Ireland work it back in and Manning has another go, but it looks like he caught Stoinov has he hit it.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:08 , Flo Clifford
‘65: Glouk releases Revivo but Dunne tracks back to make the challenge. Israel get the ball back... Kelleher comes out to claim a long ball as he’s closed down by Levi. Dangerous times for Ireland.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:04 , Flo Clifford
‘60: Moylan hooks in a free-kick which goes harmlessly out... Manning recovers it but Tzur claims unchallenged. Ireland haven’t got going here.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
21:02 , Flo Clifford
‘58: Changes for Israel: Turgeman and Azoulay are off, Levi and Gandelman are on.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
20:58 , Flo Clifford
‘54: Gloukh tees up Abada and Kelleher has to get down low to block the latter. Israel look much fresher after the restart.
Ireland 1-1 Israel
20:55 , Flo Clifford
‘52: Moylan feeds Idah but his effort takes a deflection and eventually into the arms of Tzur.
GOAL! Ireland 1-1 Israel
20:51 , Flo Clifford
‘47: Well, that isn’t the start to this half Ireland were after! Israel make a fast start and have their first shot on target - and it beats Kelleher!
Gloukh sends a clever ball wide, which comes back to him on the edge of the box. It takes a deflection off Scales as Dor Peretz creeps behind the Irish defence and sweeps it beyond Kelleher.
SECOND HALF: Ireland 1-0 Israel
20:49 , Flo Clifford
Away we go with this second half.
HALF-TIME: Ireland 1-0 Israel
20:34 , Flo Clifford
There’s a lot of shouting at the entrance to the tunnel; it sounds like there’s some protesting over that penalty being awarded. Security intervenes to separate the squabblers - we can’t see who as the camera pans away. Everyone gets down the tunnel.
HALF-TIME: Ireland 1-0 Israel
20:33 , Flo Clifford
‘45+1: Only one minute added on to this half. Enough time for a few more fouls... Revivo wins a free-kick as he’s brought down in the middle of the park. It comes to nothing.
Ireland lead at the break courtesy of a Troy Parrott penalty.
Ireland 1-0 Israel
20:31 , Flo Clifford
‘44: Feingold sends a cross floating over the bar.
It’s stop-start at the moment with all these fouls. Scales gets a yellow for bringing down Abada.
GOAL! Ireland 1-0 Israel
20:26 , Flo Clifford
‘39: Parrott rolls it into the left corner! 10 of Ireland’s last 13 goals have come from this man.
PENALTY! Ireland 0-0 Israel
20:24 , Flo Clifford
‘38: Now a bit of a melee as the Irish players swarm around the referee calling for a penalty! Manning sends the free-kick whistling into the centre of the box, Parrott plays it on to Dunne at the near post, who is brought down by the keeper.
VAR are checking it for a penalty.... and the referee is heading to the monitor. The penalty is given! Dor Peretz gets a yellow for a challenge on Dunne; he is deemed to have got to Dunn before Tzur.
Ireland 0-0 Israel
20:21 , Flo Clifford
‘35: Bit of argy-bargy as Turgeman fouls Molumby and Feingold shoves Parrott. Turgeman it is who concedes a free-kick, which Manning takes from deep on the left. It’s headed away but recycled... and again... it’s tight inside the area and Parrott can’t get a shot away.
Coventry finds Moylan now by the near post but Tzur collects - and the whistle blows for offside anyway.
Ireland 0-0 Israel
20:18 , Flo Clifford
‘32: We’ve only had one effort on target so far. By this time last week Ireland were 3-0 up and cruising.
Israel send a cross towards Dor Peretz but it’s claimed easily by Kelleher.
Ireland 0-0 Israel
20:16 , Flo Clifford
‘29: Nachmias gets the first yellow of the game for sending Idah sprawling and concedes a free-kick, pretty far out but dead central.
Hallgrimsson bellows encouragement to his players from the dugout.
It’s taken to short to Coventry, who lofts in a high diagonal ball... but Scales pulls down his man and concedes a free-kick then and there.
Ireland 0-0 Israel
20:12 , Flo Clifford
‘25: Moylan plays a poor free-kick straight to Abada. This has lacked quality so far.
WIDE! Ireland 0-0 Israel
20:08 , Flo Clifford
‘21: Ireland have a long throw which is flicked on into the box... Peretz crowds it out at the far sideline but Ireland have another. Manning stands poised.... it’s worked to Molumby on the edge of the box but he flashes wide!
Not far away from a first-ever goal for Ireland there!
SAVE! Ireland 0-0 Israel
20:04 , Flo Clifford
‘17: Abada knocks the ball down, darts forward and lets fly a curling right-footed shot - it might have been swinging wide anyway but Kelleher dives to his right to push it away!
Israel take the resulting corner short... it’s lifted back into the area but Azoulay then punts it straight out of play.
Ireland 0-0 Israel
20:02 , Flo Clifford
‘15: Israel have a corner... headed away at the near post.
Ireland 0-0 Israel
19:59 , Flo Clifford
‘13: Parrott is penalised for handball as the ball clips his arm on the way to a volley.
Ireland 0-0 Israel
19:56 , Flo Clifford
‘9: Dor Peretz goes down under a challenge from Scales but nothing is given. Ireland pass back to today’s captain Kelleher and the pace, which wasn’t exactly high, has entirely gone out of this one.
WIDE! Ireland 0-0 Israel
19:53 , Flo Clifford
‘6: Idah lets fly! It’s an effort which tests keeper Tzur but he parries.
Now Parrott flashes wide on the turn, on the right-hand side of the box.
Ireland 0-0 Israel
19:51 , Flo Clifford
‘4: Although inevitable given the political ramifications of this game, it is very bizarre seeing a football match being played behind closed doors now; the atmosphere is very reminiscent of the Covid years.
Ireland have dominated possession so far but Knight concedes a free-kick for a challenge on Revivo.
KICK-OFF: Ireland v Israel
19:47 , Flo Clifford
Away we go then.
Ireland v Israel
19:46 , Flo Clifford
The anthems pass without incident and the two captains - Peretz and Kelleher, in the absence of O’Shea - shake hands with the match officials but not with each other, as was the case last week.
Ireland v Israel
19:42 , Flo Clifford
There are no spectators and the atmosphere is tense. Ireland’s players bow their heads, as they did last week, for the Israeli national anthem.
Ireland v Israel
19:41 , Flo Clifford
The teams are about to come out of the tunnel. Just five minutes to go in Serbia...
Team news reminder
19:30 , Flo Clifford
Ireland XI: Kelleher; O’Brien, Dunne, Scales; Moylan, Knight, Molumby, Coventry, Manning; Idah, Parrott.
Israel XI: Tzur; Feingold, Nachmias, Stoinow, Revivo; Peretz, Do Peretz, Azoulay; Abada, Gloukh; Turgeman.
What have Israel said?
19:20 , Flo Clifford
Israel boss Ran Ben-Shimon later insisted he is “not dealing with any politics” ahead of the behind-closed doors clash.
He said: “I didn’t let anything, any emotion about it, to penetrate our squad. I want my players to come to the game with the football knowledge and the solutions for what’s going on on the pitch.
“I’m not dealing with any politics now. Now, I want the team to be much better in the tactical matters, in the approach to the game. And this is my only focus. I’m not going to respond to anything that is not connected to football.”
Israel press officer Eitan Dotan, who previously reiterated that his organisation was “against any kind of racism”, added: “The only thing I want to say is that our players told us that the trash talk between the Irish players and them was not normal, not like any other match.
“We will think about that after the match tomorrow. Right now, we are thinking only about the match, and maybe in a few days we will do research about that, and then we will speak with all the ones we should speak with.”
Republic of Ireland press conference cut short after clashes
19:10 , Flo Clifford
Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson admitted simply “surviving this camp” would feel like a “massive win” on the eve of another controversial Nations League clash with Israel.
The press conference ended shortly after an Israeli journalist asked about the attack onboard a FlyDubai flight bound for Israel earlier this week. The co-pilot of that flight is suspected of stabbing the captain.
There was a request from the Irish press officer to keep the line of inquiry to “football questions”, and Hallgrimsson took a question about Finn Azaz’s availability.
A different Israeli journalist made claim of racism against the Irish players, an allegation that the Irish press officer said was “completely untrue”, before he ended the press conference as shouting continued.
Republic of Ireland press conference cut short after clashes ahead of Israel rematch
How Ireland v Israel become the world’s most controversial fixture
19:00 , Miguel Delaney
The tension and anger ahead of the Nations League double header is seen as ‘unprecedented’ for a match between two countries not in conflict. Miguel Delaney explains:
How Ireland v Israel become the world’s most controversial fixture
What happened in last week's game?
18:50 , Flo Clifford
There was a small group of Israeli fans in the otherwise almost-empty stadium in Debrecen, Hungary, but an even smaller group of around 10 people without colors were celebrating when Troy Parrott broke the deadlock in the 13th minute.
There weren’t supposed to be any Irish fans present. Some Ireland supporters who managed to get tickets through the Israeli soccer federation told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that those had been canceled Saturday night.
Adam Idah made it 2-0 three minutes after Parrott’s opener and Jack Moylan got the third goal in the 25th.
It was 3-0 at halftime, but Ireland needed goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher at his best to deny Israel after the break, and tempers became frayed around the hour mark after a clash between Idah and Raz Shlomo. Both players were booked by German referee Harm Osmers.
Israel line-up
18:38 , Flo Clifford
Israel XI: Tzur; Feingold, Nachmias, Stoinow, Revivo; Peretz, Do Peretz, Azoulay; Abada, Gloukh; Turgeman.
Subs: Eliasi, Glazer, Dasa, Gandelman, Shua, Baribo, Solomna, Levi, Mizrahi, Kanichowsky, Abu Farchi.
Our starting XI to face @IrelandFootball ! 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/XKeYWiHCdC
— ISRAEL FA (@ISRAELFA) October 4, 2026
Ireland line-up
18:36 , Flo Clifford
Ireland XI: Kelleher; O’Brien, Dunne, Scales; Moylan, Knight, Molumby, Coventry, Manning; Idah, Parrott.
Subs: O’Leary, Keeley, Kitching, Egan, Nagan, Lawal, Azaz, Phillips, Vata, Ogbene, Cannon, Elding.
How we line-up in Bačka Topola pic.twitter.com/sCysPB2pDv
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) October 4, 2026
What happened in last week's game?
18:30 , Flo Clifford
Ireland players lowered their heads during the Israel national anthem after the contentious Nations League match went ahead on Sunday.
The Irish team wore black armbands, with the fixture attracting bitter opposition in Ireland over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The Irish players were seen looking down at the turf and also held their hands behind their backs during the pre-match anthem, and Irish captain Dara O’Shea approached the center of the field for the pre-match talk with his hands still firmly clasped behind his back.
O’Shea shook hands with the referee and his assistants but there was no attempt to shake the hand of Israel captain Manor Solomon. While Irish national broadcaster RTE opted for reduced coverage.
Reserve goalkeeper Gavin Bazuno decided Saturday to boycott both of Ireland’s games against Israel because of what he said was his “personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong.”
Why is this game being played in Serbia?
18:20 , Flo Clifford
The Republic of Ireland’s Nations League clash with Israel has been relocated to a neutral venue and will be played behind closed doors.
The two teams had been due to meet at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on 4 October, but in June Uefa approved a request from the FAI to host the game overseas.
The sides also met at a neutral location, Debrecen, Hungary, for Israel's ‘home’ match in Group B3 a week earlier.
“Following consultation with various stakeholders, the Association is of the view that operational challenges could impact on the delivery of the game on home soil, so the fixture will be played away from the Aviva Stadium,” the FAI said in a statement.
Why is Republic of Ireland v Israel being played behind closed doors in Serbia?
Possible line-ups
18:10 , Flo Clifford
Republic of Ireland XI: Kelleher; Egan, O'Shea, Scales; O'Brien, Coventry, Molumby, Manning; Moylan; Idah, Parrott.
Israel XI: Glazer; Stoinov, Nachimas, Shlomo; Khalaily, E. Peretz, D. Peretz, Revivo; Solomon, Gloukh; Turgeman.
Team news
18:05 , Flo Clifford
Defender James Abankwah is suspended for the Republic of Ireland, with Heimir Hallgrimsson likely to make changes elsewhere, too. Dara O’Shea’s partner is due to give birth, though he could still feature.
For Israel, Southampton goalkeeper Daniel Peretz has returned to Championship club after suffering a groin injury. Omri Glazer provides an alternative of relative experience.
How can I watch it?
18:00 , Flo Clifford
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the game via Amazon Prime Video pay-per-view.
When is Ireland vs Israel?
17:55 , Flo Clifford
The Nations League game is due to kick off at 7.45pm BST on Sunday 4 October at TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Serbia.
Ireland v Israel
17:50 , Flo Clifford
The Republic of Ireland and Israel meet again in another politically-charged Nations League clash.
This encounter takes place in Serbia and comes a week after Ireland’s 3-0 win followed days of doubt over whether their squad would fulfil the fixture.
Manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has insisted that the focus is on football, though his side’s draw over Austria in Dublin on Thursday was briefly disrupted by protestors calling for a boycott of this game.
Israel, meanwhile, drew 0-0 with Kosovo between their two meetings with Ireland.
Good evening
17:45 , Flo Clifford
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Republic of Ireland v Israel.
The two sides meet a week on from a politically-charged 3-0 win for Ireland in their second Nations League clash of this international window.
We’ll have team news and all the latest updates right here.
