All the goals from the semifinals of the promotion playoff for Euro 2024/Sport1
Oga Hareida caused quite a stir when he called for a sports boycott of Israel a few weeks before the meeting with Alon Hazan and his players in the playoffs for promotion to the Euros.
Since then, the coach of the Iceland national team had time to retract his words, but now, after the resounding 1:4 that set him a date against Ukraine for the coveted ticket to Euro 2024, he referred again to the war in Gaza.
"I have never encountered such a situation as a coach," he admitted.
"Me and the association talked about it a lot, usually there is no reason for me to talk about anything other than football, but I did it because my heart goes out to the little children and parents who were bombed. I also called for the release of the kidnapped and an end to the bombings, just out of a desire for peace."
Hareida added and claimed: "I did not take a position, both sides should not have done what they did. In the Bible, they talk about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but it is too much when so many thousands are killed.
I was in the area, I know the history, aware of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
There was never a smell of peace there, only hatred.
People should focus on peace and sports should help with that.
Most countries have bad politicians and bad politics."
"Both sides should not have done what they did, calling for peace."
Hareida/GettyImages, Will Palmer/Allstar
The coach of the Iceland national team clarified that "I have a conscience, that's why I speak. I have nothing against the players of the Israeli national team, but I don't like the politicians in the country. This is my opinion. No one can imprison me for that. I was not surprised when the Israeli journalists asked me at the party The journalists in Budapest - they tried to divert my attention from the national team, but I never discussed it with the players, only about football. This psychological warfare is part of the game, it's fine."
As mentioned, in the playoff finals, Iceland will meet Ukraine, for whom Hareida has only sympathy: "My daughter hosted Ukrainian refugees. It pains me greatly that they have to flee their country because of an attack by another country. It's terrible that these things keep happening."
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