Next month (March), Israel's soccer team will meet that of Iceland in the semi-finals of the Nations League, in an attempt to advance to the final and from there to qualify for Euro 2024. Now it turns out that the rival's Norwegian coach, Aga Hareida, chose to "heat up" the atmosphere with an irritating political statement.
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Iceland, it should be noted, is the same country that is waiting for its participation in the upcoming Eurovision competition by knocking out Israel, and from Harida's words it is easy to understand that he would be happy for this to happen in soccer as well, not necessarily on the field.
"The difference between Israel's case and Russia's is only that UEFA didn't suspend Israel," Harreida told an Icelandic website, echoing the popular opinion in the country's media. He also added: "I would have preferred not to play against Israel.
It will be mentally difficult for my players, but we have to leave politics aside."
In the next step, Hareida was even sharper and emphasized which side he chose in this war, despite the massacre of October 7: "We are going to play against Israeli soccer players and not against politicians - and that is the way to look at it. I know that a discussion has recently developed on the issue, given the fact that the government Israel killed 26,000 Palestinians."
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Finally, Hareida said: "We all need to leave our emotions behind and come with the right mentality. The best thing we can do is beat Israel."
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