'It’s not that I’m used to it, I’ve gone past the stage of caring' - Adam Idah on racist abuse

David Sneyd reports from Aviva Stadium

ADAM IDAH EXPLAINED he requested a conversation with Heimir Hallgrímsson about his lack of game time in the first leg of the Nations League promotion/relegation with Bulgaria.

The Republic of Ireland striker wasn’t used off the bench in Plovdiv but took his chance as a second-half substitute with a goal to secure a 2-1 win in Dublin tonight.

Idah celebrated by running towards the bench and putting his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

He insisted it was to silence those making negative comments online but did reveal that he discussed things with the Ireland manager over the weekend.

“I saw a lot of stuff online, so it was just telling people to shut-up, really. I was frustrated with the first game, but I came on and did what I’ve been doing all season, so it was just to the people who were doubting me,” Idah said.

“Just about me not doing well recently and why I’ve not been playing, and why I should be on the bench. When I saw a couple of bits, that celebration was towards that.

“He had his reasons why I didn’t play in the last game. I was frustrated, I didn’t really agree with it, but that’s football, we are men at the end of the day and we had a laugh and a joke after the game.

“I think that’s all I needed to do, to go on the pitch and show what I could do, and thankfully I did that. Hopefully he can see what I’m about now.

“I’m an attacker, I want to come onto the pitch and help the team. Look, don’t get me wrong, the boys that have been playing have been doing brilliant. But I’ve got to work for myself as well. I’ve been having a great season.

“It was disappointing not coming on the other night, so I had that conversation with him and it happens in football all the time. It was nothing bad, it was just me asking what I needed to do, and he told me, and thankfully he gave me some minutes today and I was able to show myself.”

Idah insisted there were no hard feelings and it wasn’t a tough conversation to have with Hallgrímsson.

“I knew what I wanted to say and it was pretty easy for me to go in. I’ve had a good season [at Celtic], I’ve scored lots of goals, so it wasn’t that hard for me to go in and say it to him.

“He is a man himself, he understood me and he knew what I was talking about, and it wasn’t anything bad. He agreed with what I said, I agreed with some bits of what he said. He said to me, ‘you just have to show yourself’. He gave me the minutes today and I did that.

“I don’t think anyone deserves anything in football, you have to earn it. That’s one thing I agreed with him about. I’m not saying to him that I think I deserve to start the games, I just let him know my reasons why I thought I wanted to play.

“I respect the manager and, like I said, the decision he made last week was his decision and I probably have had that so many times in football where I don’t play and get frustrated, but that’s the beauty of football. I didn’t play last week and I came on and scored today, it’s what you have to do. You have to be brave and be confident and that’s what I showed tonight.

“When I was younger it was hard. You probably get in your own head, you start doubting yourself. But I’ve gotten over it, I see it [negativity online] all the time and it’s exactly what I did, that’s how you shush them, you let your feet do the talking and I’m sure there won’t be nothing else said.”

On a more serious note, Idah confirmed he was aware that the FAI reported an alleged racist incident to UEFA from an Under-17 Elite Phase qualifying match against Poland this weekend.

Adam Idah with Heimir Hallgrimsson at full time. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO

Now 24, the forwards said he was saddened to hear of it and recalled his experience as a Norwich City player in December 2021 when he received racist messages after a game with Crystal Palace.

“It’s ridiculous in this day and age that there are racist comments going about, it’s shocking, especially in football when there is so much awareness around it. Hopefully UEFA can put it right.

“I’ve had it before, where I put the complaint in and nothing came from it. We do need to do things, put our foot down. Look, I’m not going to lie, it’s probably going to happen a lot more, it’s going to be hard to stop but once we get the awareness out, we need more people to understand what it’s about, but once we get the word about more, it can make a big difference.

“In this day and age, it’s a bit ridiculous, especially guys that young, it shouldn’t be said, it makes you wonder where they’re getting this from. To hear it at Under-17s level is ridiculous.

“I had messages online and had them screenshotted. I don’t know they couldn’t do anything about it, but I got told they couldn’t do anything about it which is ridiculous in my opinion. I said it before, there should be some clampdown on social media, you should have to put your ID in social media or something. That’s the just the world we live in now, it’s getting a bit ridiculous.

“I know the police were involved but they could do anything about it. It’s not nice because it happened again after, when I see the messages, just letting it go, in my head, will I screen shot it? Will they do something about it? And it’s the problem. For me, it’s not that I’m used to it, I’ve gone past the stage of caring.

“But you can imagine an Under-17 player, it can take your toll on you. If you had feeling of no one can do anything about it, it’s tough to speak to anyone. It can put yourself in a hard place, that’s why I said we need to raise awareness for the young guys coming through, we need to protect these guys for the future.”