Ireland to fulfil Israel Nations League fixture
Republic of Ireland will play its UEFA Nations League game against Israel on Monday (AEST), after a vote took place within the squad on whether to fulfil the fixture, Football Association of Ireland (FAI) CEO David Courell announced on Sunday (AEST).
Ireland had postponed its pre-match press conference ahead of the game in Hungary, and its training session was also delayed.
This was to allow talks to continue between Ireland players, coaching staff and officials, after one player, later revealed to be goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, announced his intention to withdraw from the squad.
"Representing my country means everything to me. I have the utmost respect for every single one of my team mates, the manager, his staff and the Irish people," Bazunu said via a statement.
"However I have reached a decision that I have not taken lightly. I am a man of strong faith and try my best to be a person of character and principle therefore I feel it would be wrong to participate in the upcoming fixtures against Israel.
"My decision is based purely upon my personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong. It is important to note that my stance is not in opposition of the Israeli people or the Jewish community but against the atrocities in the region."
The game has been under the spotlight since the sides were drawn together in February, with Ireland one of Europe's most outspoken critics of Israel's war in Gaza. There have been numerous protests in Ireland asking for the team not to fulfil the fixtures with Israel.
"This morning, a player expressed their discomfort with fulfilling this fixture to the head coach and indicated their intent to withdraw from the squad," Courell told reporters.
"Ultimately, within the last maybe 90 minutes, we carried out a vote amongst the squad to establish their sentiment on fulfilling the fixtures and it was a significant majority that was returned with the intention to continue.
"So based on that, the association took the decision on behalf of Irish football that this fixture would continue as we have always intended to fulfil the fixtures."
Courell said that four hours of conversations among the players took place on Sunday (AEST), which at times included coaching staff and the executive. This came after a two-hour meeting on Saturday (AEST), when players agreed to travel to Hungary.
The chief executive declined to reveal details of how many players voted but said a significant majority were in favour of playing the game.
"The players are training today. It's an ongoing discussion, and we haven't come to a kind of conclusion on this," Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson said.
"The game is going ahead, we're going to train, and there will be more discussions tonight and probably tomorrow. It's just a unique situation, and we are trying to limit the damage."
Ireland players will not appear at any press conferences for the remainder of the international window.
"In that conversation yesterday with the players, it was clear that they felt uncomfortable in this environment dealing with all of the respective questions that were coming to them that are not about football," Courell said.
He also said there would be no pre-match handshake with the Israeli team or exchange of pennants, and that the players intended to wear black armbands in recognition of all the lives lost in the conflict.
FAI members voted in November for its board to request that UEFA suspend Israel from European competitions, but a motion in favour of proceeding with the fixtures was passed at a meeting in July.
All Israel's home games are scheduled to take place in Debrecen, and Ireland moved its home fixture, set for 5 October (AEST), to Serbia in a match that will be played behind closed doors.
Israel's Football Association welcomed the decision to play Monday's (AEST) game and released a statement that football and politics should be kept apart.
"What pleases us today, is that football has won," the statement read.
"The separation between football and politics must be maintained, any other approach spells chaos and a dangerous slide on a slippery slope, leading to disastrous consequences for the game we all love.
"The Football Association of Ireland and the national team players did the right thing by recognising this, even if it took a bit longer than it should. Yet, it's better late than never."
