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London: Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson admitted the timing of his comments about the war in Gaza was \u201cnot clever\u201d as he prepares his team for Nations League matches against Israel.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Icelander sparked a diplomatic row last week by saying: \u201cWe\u2019re not playing with genocide, we\u2019re playing against genocide. We\u2019re playing against Israel, we\u2019re not playing with Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n The Israel Football Association responded on Monday, accusing Hallgrimsson of \u201cstupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy\u201d.<\/p>\n Ireland\u2019s prime minister Micheal Martin then came to the defence of the team\u2019s boss, saying the Israel FA should withdraw its \u201cunacceptable remarks\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael can\u2019t keep denying what the world knows, and what the world understands,\u201d Martin told reporters in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.<\/p>\n Ireland are scheduled to play Israel in Debrecen, Hungary, on Sunday and face their group rivals again in a \u201chome\u201d tie at another neutral venue in Backa Topola, Serbia, seven days later.<\/p>\n The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) opted for a neutral venue for the \u201chome\u201d match, citing \u201coperational challenges that could impact on the delivery of the game on home soil\u201d.<\/p>\n Ireland launch their Nations League campaign away to Kosovo on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe headlines that I said have taken the attention away from what is maybe most important, we are playing an important game against Kosovo,\u201d Hallgrimsson told a pre-match press conference.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe from a leadership point of view it was not clever from me, to take the attention (away) like this.<\/p>\n \u201cI need to be focused on the game, the players need to be focused on the game. We are thankful for all the support we get. It\u2019s a tricky time for us.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 160 Irish sportsmen and women have signed an open letter calling on the national team to boycott the Israel matches, while protesters gathered outside the team\u2019s Dublin hotel on Monday. Further protests are planned around the country.<\/p>\n The FAI passed a motion last November asking European governing body UEFA to suspend Israel from international competition, but their appeal was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n