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Dominik Szoboszlai has responded to online criticism following Hungary’s heartbreaking World Cup qualifier defeat to the Republic of Ireland, with the Liverpool midfielder insisting a gesture he made during the game was not directed at his opponents.
Szoboszlai and his Reds teammate Milos Kerkez had their dream of reaching next year’s tournament dashed in the most dramatic of circumstances in Budapest on Sunday, with Troy Parrott completing a hat-trick deep into stoppage time to secure Ireland a place in the play-offs at Hungary’s expense.
The hosts had looked on course to earn the point needed to claim second place in the group, with Szoboszlai having played a hand in his side taking an early lead.
The 25-year-old provided the assist for Daniel Lukacs’ opener, and was picked up by television cameras making a gesture during the ensuing celebrations, holding his hand up to his nose and wiggling his fingers in what is generally considered to be a mocking nature.
That celebration has been the subject of much discourse on social media after Hungary’s defeat, with some fans accusing Szoboszlai of goading the Irish team or its supporters.
The backlash comes after Cristiano Ronaldo was spotted making a crying gesture to Dara O’Shea just a few days earlier, moments before the Portugal star was sent off.
Fans have been comparing the two incidents, with some even sharing AI-manipulated images of Szoboszlai mimicking Ronaldo’s gesture.
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In an interview with Hungarian outlet Blikk though, Szoboszlai has rebuffed suggestions that he aimed his gesture at the Irish team or fans.
“This is a joke between my own teammates, Andras Schafer, Barnabas Varga and Peter Szappanos,” he said. “If it was meant for the Irish, I would tell them.”
Indeed, videos have since been shared online showing that Szoboszlai had been looking toward his own bench when he made the gesture.
Both he and Kerkez will now return to Liverpool as the Reds return to Premier League action against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, with Szoboszlai eager to put the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup with his country behind him.
“It is still difficult to accept what happened,” he added.
“But unfortunately we have to live with it and move on. There is certainly a reason why this always happens to us, but we try to take the positives out of the most difficult times. We had a chance until the end, we believed that we could make the playoffs.”
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