Ex-FA Chairman Slams Ireland's 'Disgraceful' Behavior Towards Israel

David Bernstein, former chairman of the English Football Association and Manchester City, has sharply criticized the conduct of the Irish national football team and its associates during recent matches against Israel. In an opinion piece for The Jewish Chronicle, Bernstein, an 83-year-old Jew, stated his lifelong principle has been to keep politics out of sports, warning that football's unifying power is threatened when political divisions infiltrate the game.

Bernstein cited a range of behaviors he deems unacceptable, including symbolic gestures like taking a knee, wearing armbands, displaying inappropriate flags, and commentators expressing biased views. He argued these public displays are often selective, disproportionate, and dangerously simplistic, diverting attention from the sport itself and fostering animosity.

He specifically condemned the actions surrounding the recent matches between Ireland and Israel. Bernstein recalled the exclusion of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a Europa League match against Aston Villa as a failure of West Midlands Police. However, he described the recent games as reaching a new low, characterized by "clearly insulting, unworthy, and unsportsmanlike behavior."

Bernstein detailed how Irish players reportedly debated whether to play, wore black armbands with an "unmistakable anti-Israel meaning," with one player removing and waving it during a celebration. He also noted that Irish players refused to shake hands with their Israeli counterparts and bowed their heads "symbolically" during the Israeli national anthem, which he called an insult to the multi-ethnic Israeli squad, including its Muslim and Druze players.

Bernstein expressed his expectation that UEFA will take strong action, stating that such conduct typically warrants intervention and that Ireland's "childish and divisive antics" likely violated international football regulations.