Jake O’Brien’s comments to Manor Solomon during the Republic of Ireland-Israel clash perhaps explained why the West Ham United winger was so angry in his post-match interview.
Israel captain Solomon struggled to influence the contest in Debrecen as his side suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat, after there were major calls for Irish players to boycott the clash due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine in Gaza.
The controversial Nations League clash was unsurprisingly fractious between both sets of players before, during and after the match, with comments exchanged between O’Brien and Solomon.
Jake O’Brien angered Manor Solomon with comments he made during Israel vs the Republic of Ireland
In the build-up to the clash, Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu pulled out of being involved, citing “a personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong” in an Instagram statement.
Ireland refused to shake hands with Israel players before kick-off, and no pennants were exchanged between captains. Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men even wore black armbands in solidarity with victims of the conflict, and Jack Moylan was captured kissing it when he scored.
Controversy continued towards the end of the match, too, as just before Solomon was going for his interview, Everton defender O’Brien allegedly said to him, “Shame on you for what you’re doing in Gaza. You deserve to lose,” as per Sport 5.
“Come out, be a man. Don’t talk behind a wall,” Solomon said in response. “It’s a shame the game wasn’t in Israel, you would understand what the best country in the world is.”
That was one reason why the West Ham winger was perhaps angry in his post-match interview, where he said he would risk a ban for stating what he really thinks.
“They said nonsense during the game, I don’t want to comment on them,” Solomon said, speaking to Israeli TV.
“If I say what I think about them I’ll probably be banned for a few games so I don’t want to say, of course they hate us and we don’t like them.
“I’m already looking forward to the next game against them, it’s going to be completely different.
“What they did with the anthem? I’m not interested in them, we have a country that is ten times better than theirs, stronger, an amazing country with amazing people, proud to wear the national team’s uniform and be Israelis.
“I am proud of our country and our soldiers, they can do any number of things. We are Israelis and love the country, winning is what it will be.”
Why UEFA cannot investigate racism in Israel vs the Republic of Ireland
The choice words Solomon exchanged in his interview arguably weren’t the most controversial moment that happened on Sunday night.
It was claimed that Swansea City striker Adam Idah had racist chants directed at him in the first half, and midfielder Jayson Molumby heard them.
He told referee Harm Osmers and the fourth official, Florian Exner to “listen”, though the UEFA representative at the Nagyerdei Stadium informed the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) that they cannot investigate.
It’s claimed the correct protocol prevents the matter from going any further, as Molumby did not specifically reference a racial incident.
While Idah is unsure if he heard any racist chants, the FA intends to continue looking into the incident by focusing on footage from the stadium and audio from pitchside microphones.
A spokesperson from the FAI said: “We’re going to review the video evidence from the game and try and determine if there is any evidence of racism.
“If we believe that to be the case, we will send [the evidence] to UEFA demanding an investigation into the incident.”
