Israel captain Manor Solomon has launched an astonishing rant after Ireland refused to shake hands with his country and blanked their national anthem.Ireland and Israel played a controversial match in Hungary on Sunday night, which Irish goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu boycotted on ethical grounds. Skipper Dara O’Seah did not shake hands with West Ham star Solomon for the coin toss and Ireland wore black armbands throughout the game. Solomon said: ‘They said nonsense [to us] during the game, I don’t want to talk about them. ‘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.’We are proud to wear the national team’s shirt and be Israelis.
We are proud of our country and our soldiers. [The Irish] can play all their tricks. We are Israelis and love the country. And that will always be the case.’We will do everything to make it look completely different against Kosovo, we have four more games in the campaign and it’s not over. I believe in ourselves that we can do it. I know who I’m with here, I know the players and the team, we will get out of this and get revenge for this.’
Joseph Akwagiobe is a media contributor from Cross River State, Nigeria, currently based in Abuja. He is a graduate of Microbiology and has earned several professional certifications across diverse fields, reflecting his commitment to continuous learning, professional growth, and excellence.