sounds like this: iOS has a :hover problem - Human Who Codes.
i suppose the site could be changed just to account for iOS’s unique handling of hover-related events, but i think if this were to be addressed at some point, it would be really low on the list of priorities, just judging by other reports of odd behaviors on iPad (ex. Empty error pop-ups - Bug Reports - iNaturalist Community Forum).
that said, apparently a longer tap will follow a link instead of triggering the hover event (see ios - How do I hover on the iPad? - Ask Different (stackexchange.com)). so you could try long-tapping in these situations to avoid having to tap twice.