Israel’s national team goalkeeper has apologised for his team’s ‘embarrassing’ performance against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday night, but insisted that the opposition’s hostility to his country throughout the politically charged match “stems from ignorance”.
Daniel Peretz, who plays his club football at EFL side Southampton, said the Israeli team was overwhelmed by the emotion surrounding the match, which they ultimately lost 3-0.
Speaking to Channel 5 Sports after the final whistle, Peretz said the players had arrived determined to win but admitted that the intensity of the occasion affected their performance.
“We came into this game with a lot of emotion, and it hurt us,” Peretz said. “We lost some of our concentration.”
Before kick-off, Ireland captain Dara O’Shea declined to shake hands with Israeli captain Manor Solomon. The customary exchange of pennants was also absent, while the Irish players lowered their heads to look at the ground during Israel’s national anthem.
Addressing the decision by the Republic of Ireland players to bow their heads during Hatikvah, Solomon added: “What they did with the anthem? I’m not interested in them.
“We have a country that is 10 times better than theirs, stronger, an amazing country with amazing people, proud to wear the national team’s uniform and be Israelis.”
The Irish team also sported black armbands, with Football Association of Ireland chief executive David Courell saying beforehand that they were being worn “in recognition of all lives lost in the conflict” in Gaza.
Peretz was asked specifically about the Irish players’ behaviour before the match and gave a blunt assessment.
“It all stems from ignorance,” he said.
While he acknowledged that some Irish players had apparently tried to understand Israel’s circumstances, he argued that the gestures made by the team showed they did not appreciate the situation sufficiently.
“There were some players who wanted to understand what was happening and what we are going through,” Peretz said. “But overall, they expressed an opinion without understanding the situation. That’s on them. They are grown-ups.”
On the pitch, Israel found themselves three goals behind before half-time.
“At half-time we understood that we couldn’t change what had happened in the first half,” he said. “But we said we weren’t going to lose the second half.”
Israel did improve after the break, creating opportunities and forcing Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher into several saves. But Ireland's defence held firm and the score remained 3-0 until the final whistle.
“We need to focus on football,” Peretz said. “That was what we were missing most today.”
“It’s easy to get depressed,” he said, but stressed that Israel still has two Nations League matches ahead.
Solomon, meanwhile, insisted that the events surrounding the match had strengthened rather than diminished Israel’s motivation for the return fixture.
“The next game against them, it’s going to be completely different,” he said. “We will get revenge for this.”
The rematch will take place next Sunday in Bačka Topola, Serbia, and will be played behind closed doors.
Solomon said Israel would approach the fixture with a different mindset after what he described as a disappointing night.
“We came here to win,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a difficult game, but we didn’t expect this.”
“We need to learn from this and come back stronger.”
Peretz was similarly confident that Israel would produce a different performance in the return fixture.
“It won’t be like this,” he said. “I promise you.”
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