FAI confirms Ireland vs Israel Nations League match will proceed after squad vote

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed on Saturday that the Republic of Ireland’s Nations League fixture against Israel will proceed as scheduled on Sunday at 7:45pm BST, following a majority vote among the squad. The match will be played at a neutral venue in Hungary amid ongoing calls from campaigners to boycott the game in protest at the war in Gaza.

The announcement came after a turbulent Saturday morning in which Ireland’s pre-match press conference and training session were both delayed, raising serious doubts over whether the fixture would take place. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu had reportedly indicated he did not want to play.

FAI CEO David Courell addressed the situation directly, revealing that a player had expressed discomfort to head coach earlier in the day and indicated an intent to withdraw from the squad. A vote was subsequently held across the full squad to gauge their collective position.

“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,” Courell said. “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.”

The FAI’s official statement acknowledged the divided opinion within the group. “The association made this decision following consultation with the Republic of Ireland players who shared different views and a majority expressed that the fixtures should be played,” it read. “The association respects the views of all players involved and appreciates the level of sensitivity concerning these fixtures.”

Ireland also face a second meeting with Israel next Sunday in Serbia. Failure to fulfil either fixture would have left the FAI exposed to financial penalties from UEFA.

Midfielder Jason Knight, speaking after Ireland’s 1-0 defeat to Kosovo on Thursday, had already hinted at the difficulty players were navigating. “I don’t think the game obviously should be going ahead but it is going ahead,” Knight said. “We’ll have a deeper talk about it and what that means, we’ll get our thoughts as a group and go from there. I’ll try and focus on the football as much as I can.”