Liverpool’s Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai firmly rebuffed accusations that he had been taunting Republic of Ireland fans before his nation’s spectacular World Cup qualification collapse.
Hungary’s captain endured a roller coaster of emotions during Sunday’s dramatic clash with Ireland in Budapest. The hosts needed to avoid defeat to secure a spot in the World Cup playoffs and twice took the lead in the first half.
Szoboszlai celebrated Barnabás Varga making it 2–1 in the 37th minute by turning towards the touchline, placing his thumb on his nose and waggling his fingers in a mocking gesture typically reserved for school children.
Once an Ireland side inspired by former Tottenham Hotspur academy Troy Parrott had romped back to win 3–2, bumping Hungary down into third and taking the Green Army into the playoffs, Szoboszlai was crestfallen and quickly pilloried.
After swallowing a brunt of social media backlash deriding his actions as prematurely boastful, Szoboszlai promptly set the record straight.
Dominik Szoboszlai celebrating that Hungary goal vs Ireland pic.twitter.com/nHzEhx2xyL
— Anything Liverpool (@AnythingLFC_) November 16, 2025
“This is a joke between my own teammates, András Schäfer, Barnabás Varga and Péter Szappanos,” he told Blikk two days after the defeat. “If it was meant for the Irish, I would tell them.”
Liverpool’s all-action midfielder was more concerned with his side’s failure to qualify for the World Cup rather than any offence he may have unintentionally caused.
“It is still difficult to accept what happened,” he sighed, “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.”
Szoboszlai Must Channel World Cup Strife Into Liverpool Form
During a campaign which has seen Liverpool’s two most expensive players of all time dramatically fail to justify their nine-digit fees, Szoboszlai has been putting in performances worthy of the £100 million ($131.1 million) price tag Arne Slot slapped on his head.
The arrival of Florian Wirtz should theoretically have shunted Liverpool’s No. 8 out of the team. Yet, Szoboszlai has made the most of the injuries littered throughout the defending champions, plugging any gap which appears, even at right back.
A constant blur of red fabric and perfectly tossled brown hair, there is seemingly no area of the pitch spared from the midfielder’s all-consuming influence. In the Premier League this season, Szoboszlai has taken more shots than Hugo Ekitiké, created as many chances as Florian Wirtz, while also winning more tackles than Ryan Gravenberch.
The pain of missing out on another World Cup will be tough for Szoboszlai and Hungary to swallow—the two-time finalists haven’t been at the tournament proper since 1986. Yet, if Liverpool’s shining talisman can channel that pain into something productive, he could somehow improve upon his already astounding individual campaign.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘It Was a Joke’—Liverpool Star Hits Out at World Cup Controversy.
