The Republic of Ireland is set to face Israel in their upcoming Nations League match this Sunday after a squad-wide vote confirmed a majority intention to fulfill the fixture, according to Football Association of Ireland (FAI) CEO David Courell. The decision came after significant internal deliberation, including a tense period where the team’s preparations were delayed. “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.
On Saturday, the team postponed a scheduled 10:15 am local time press conference and a training session in Debrecen, Hungary, where Israel hosts its home matches. CEO David Courell explained that the disruption followed a player expressing discomfort with the fixture and indicating their desire to withdraw from the squad. This prompted the management and the players to hold a vote, which resulted in a strong majority favoring the team’s continued participation in the match. Coaching staff and executives, after one player announced their intention to withdraw from the squad, this was to allow further talks to continue between Irish players. Reporters were informed that this would now take place following the team’s training session at the stadium in Debrecen, ireland were due to hold the news conference on Saturday but shortly before the scheduled start at 10:15am local time (08:15 GMT).
Tensions surrounding the encounter have been high for some time. FAI members had previously moved to request that UEFA suspend Israel from European competitions, though a July EGM eventually passed a motion to proceed with scheduled fixtures. Ahead of the team’s opening 1-0 loss to Kosovo, captain Dara O’Shea indicated that the squad planned to meet and discuss their stance on the Israeli fixture.
The atmosphere was further strained after Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson used the term “genocide” during a press conference last weekend. The Israeli Football Association subsequently labeled the manager’s comments as “stupid, ignorant and hypocritical.” Israel has consistently rejected allegations of genocide, a term used by several United Nations experts and international rights organizations to describe the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
While Ireland will face Israel in Hungary on Sunday, the return fixture on October 4 has been moved to Serbia and will be held behind closed doors. The FAI has maintained its original intention to play all scheduled group games despite the external and internal pressures facing the squad.
