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Republic of Ireland confirm Israel game will go ahead
Confirmed
In Short: The Republic of Ireland has confirmed Sunday's UEFA Nations League match against Israel will go ahead despite initial player concerns.
The Republic of Ireland has confirmed that Sunday's UEFA Nations League match against Israel will proceed as scheduled in Debrecen, Hungary.
Players had been locked in a meeting earlier, with some reportedly considering withdrawing from the game. However, a vote among the squad resulted in a significant majority in favor of playing.
FAI CEO David Courell confirmed the decision during a press conference, stating, '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.
Jason Knight, a midfielder for the Republic of Ireland, does not believe the game should go ahead. He joins other players and former coaches in voicing their concerns.
International rights organizations have also called for UEFA and FIFA to exclude Israel from competitions due to its support of illegal settlements.
The FAI had previously voted to pressure UEFA to suspend Israel under its statutes, but campaigners argue that the governing body should respect this mandate.
What's confirmed
- In May, leading Irish footballers joined celebrities in a campaign by Irish Sport for Palestine, urging Ireland to boycott the match against Israel.
What's still developing
- Around 13:00 BST, players began to filter out of the meeting room with it then confirmed the news conference would indeed go ahead, back at Nagyerdei Stadion at 14:30 with training to follow.
- Over five hours after the initial news conference was due to begin, Football Association of Ireland [FAI] CEO David Courell - flanked by Hallgrimsson and FAI Director of Football - confirmed a players' vote passed by a significant majority to play the game.
- The players were locked in a meeting, with unconfirmed reports that several players, including goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, expressed their wish to withdraw from the game leading to questions whether the game would go ahead.
- It was reported that several more players were considering joining Bolton goalkeeper Bazunu in protest but in the afternoon, a press conference was held announcing that a ‘significant majority’ of the Ireland team had voted in favour of playing.
- Earlier this week, Hallgrimsson said his side were ‘playing against genocide’, only for the Israel Football Association to accuse the Icelandic of ‘stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy’.
- Heimir Hallgrimsson’s team are scheduled to play Israel in Hungary with a return fixture to follow in Serbia on 4 October.
- Such is the political tension over the fixture, that the return leg on October 4 was moved from Dublin to a neutral location in Serbia but there is uncertainty whether it will still go ahead.
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- The Nations League meeting will take place in the Hungarian city of Debrecen amid ongoing calls for Ireland to boycott the fixture.
- Over 160 Irish sportspeople have signed an open letter, published in the Morning Star yesterday, issued by the Irish Sport for Palestine Group urging the Football Association of Ireland to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the fixture.
- Ireland and Israel will play two football matches despite growing Irish calls for a boycott due to the genocide in Gaza.
- Seven months on, the Ireland vs Israel game is expected to be played as scheduled but amid vociferous criticism, louder calls for Irish football officials not to send a team to the game and bitter Israeli responses to the backlash.