Arab News | Ireland to fulfil Nations League fixture with Israel after player vote

DEBRECEN, Hungary: Ireland will play their Nations League fixture against Israel on Sunday, after a vote took place within the squad on whether to fulfil the fixture, Football Association of Ireland (FAI) CEO David Courell said on Saturday.

Ireland had postponed their pre-match press conference ahead of the game in Hungary, and their training session was also delayed.

This was to allow talks to continue between Irish players, coaching staff and officials, after one player announced his intention to withdraw from the squad.

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 among 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 Saturday, which at times included coaching staff and ‌the executive.

This came after a two-hour meeting on Friday, when players agreed to travel to Hungary. The CEO ‌declined to reveal details of how many players voted, but said a significant majority were ‌in favor 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.”

PRESS CONFERENCE POSTPONED

Ireland were due to hold the press conference on Saturday but shortly before the scheduled start the FAI told reporters that this would now take place following the team’s training session at the stadium in Debrecen. 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 they 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 favor 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 their home fixture, set for October 4, to Serbia in a match that will be played behind closed doors.