Hallgrimsson says Ireland will learn from mistakes before Austria test
Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson says he got some calls wrong around the Israel fixtures and expects the Football Association of Ireland to learn as well.
Ireland face Austria in the Nations League, UEFA's league-style international competition, at Dublin's Aviva Stadium at 19:45 BST on 1 October. Hallgrimsson was speaking on Wednesday, the day before the Group B3 game. "We are in a pre-match press conference before a game against Austria and we haven't spoken about football," he said, BBC Sport.
Ireland won 3-0. That victory over Israel came on Sunday. It followed a difficult build-up off the pitch.
The players voted on Saturday to fulfil the Israel fixtures. The vote came after goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu made himself unavailable for the matches. FAI chief executive David Courell said the vote in favour of playing passed by a "significant majority".
Former Ireland manager Brian Kerr said on Virgin Media on Saturday that Bazunu was "feeling quite low and shunned by some of the players and by the FAI" and had not been included in the players' vote. FAI president Paul Cooke said on Saturday that the association's intention was to play Israel again in Backa Topola, RTE.
Hallgrimsson reflected on that build-up on Wednesday. "In real time, you tend to make some wrong decisions," he said. He added: "I would think the Association would learn from these events like I will learn from them."
The Israel games had drawn wider pressure. The 'Stop The Game' campaign, organised by Irish Sport for Palestine, issued an open letter calling for a boycott of Sunday's game in Backa Topola. FAI board members appeared before the Oireachtas Sports Committee, the Irish parliament's sports committee, in Dublin on Wednesday.
Hallgrimsson also addressed his own language about the tie. He had said "we're not playing with genocide, we're playing against genocide" about the Israel fixtures. The Israel Football Association accused him of "ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity" in response. Asked about criticism from Kerr over the handling of the week, Hallgrimsson said "in the end, time will be our judge", Independent.ie.
For supporters, this means a strange split. A strong win on the pitch. Hard questions off it. Austria now offers a chance to talk about football again.
