Israel’s national soccer team will take the field tonight (Sunday, 9:45 p.m.) for the rematch against Ireland in Bačka Topola, Serbia, wearing black armbands in memory of those murdered and fallen in the October 7, 2023 massacre. The moving gesture was made possible after UEFA approved the official request from Israeli Football Association chairman Shino Zuaretz, who also serves on the executive committee of European soccer’s governing body.
Zuaretz’s appeal comes ahead of this week’s national memorial day marking the October 7 massacre, and as a pointed response to the Irish team’s controversial gesture in the previous match. In last week’s game in Debrecen, Ireland’s players wore black armbands with the vague designation “in memory of all victims of the conflict”—a gesture that third-goal scorer Jack Moylan exploited for political provocation. Now, the Blue and Whites will take the field with an unambiguous memorial symbol dedicated to those murdered and fallen on October 7.
The Israeli delegation expressed great satisfaction with the approval of the tribute on the international stage, and the players will take the pitch in Serbia with the black armbands affixed to their jersey sleeves. For Ran Ben Shimon’s squad, this represents a supreme moral and ethical motivation heading into kickoff against their Irish rivals—to fight for the nation’s honor, remember the fallen, and bring sporting pride to the entire nation. May the memory of the murdered and fallen be blessed.