"The spitting incident" heightens tensions ahead of Ireland's clash with Israel

He added: "There was an accusation of spitting at someone, but I didn’t witness that. We don’t want to dwell on it. It’s likely that the matter will be reviewed like everything else that happened between the teams."

Media reports quoted Hallgrimsson saying: "I felt they were trying to intimidate us from the first whistle, but I praised the players for keeping their composure. The match could have turned into a series of yellow and red cards, but we maintained our calm, and the players were composed and managed their emotions well."

Meanwhile, Israel's coach Ran Ben Shimon stated that he did not witness the spitting incident, adding: "During the halftime break, I was in the locker room with the coaching staff. I didn’t see anything. When I have the opportunity to check what happened, I will provide you with the details."

Tensions between the two teams have increased since their previous match in Hungary, which ended with a 3-0 victory for Ireland, amid accusations of unsportsmanlike behavior.

Ben Shimon responded to a question about targeting Irish midfielder Jason Molumby: "It wasn’t personal against Molumby. We don’t do that. We’re not that kind. It’s very hard for you to believe us, but I would never ask a player to intentionally play violently against an opponent."

Ireland is considered one of the most critical European countries regarding Israel's war on Gaza, and the Irish Football Association chose to hold the match in Serbia without fans amid pressure to withdraw from matches.

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Tensions between the two teams escalated during the halftime break, with reports of an Irish coaching staff member being spat on by an Israeli player.

Hallgrimsson said: "I don’t want to go into details, but things were like this during both matches. The atmosphere was charged, and there were a lot of emotions."

He added: "There was an accusation of spitting at someone, but I didn’t witness that. We don’t want to dwell on it. It’s likely that the matter will be reviewed like everything else that happened between the teams."

Media reports quoted Hallgrimsson saying: "I felt they were trying to intimidate us from the first whistle, but I praised the players for keeping their composure. The match could have turned into a series of yellow and red cards, but we maintained our calm, and the players were composed and managed their emotions well."

Meanwhile, Israel's coach Ran Ben Shimon stated that he did not witness the spitting incident, adding: "During the halftime break, I was in the locker room with the coaching staff. I didn’t see anything. When I have the opportunity to check what happened, I will provide you with the details."

Tensions between the two teams have increased since their previous match in Hungary, which ended with a 3-0 victory for Ireland, amid accusations of unsportsmanlike behavior.

Ben Shimon responded to a question about targeting Irish midfielder Jason Molumby: "It wasn’t personal against Molumby. We don’t do that. We’re not that kind. It’s very hard for you to believe us, but I would never ask a player to intentionally play violently against an opponent."

Ireland is considered one of the most critical European countries regarding Israel's war on Gaza, and the Irish Football Association chose to hold the match in Serbia without fans amid pressure to withdraw from matches.