Republic of Ireland to wear black armbands for Israel game

Republic of Ireland players intend to wear black armbands "in recognition of all lives lost in the [Gaza] conflict" for Sunday's Uefa Nations League B3 game against Israel in Debrecen, Hungary, after confirming they will go ahead with the fixture.

Football Association of Ireland (FAI) chief executive David Courell confirmed one player has withdrawn from the squad before the game.

But he added that a vote among the squad produced a "significant majority" in favour of playing.

As well as the intention to wear black armbands for Sunday's 'away' game against Israel in Debrecen, Courell said the players will make further gestures for the initial game and the return 'home' fixture against Israel next Sunday in Serbia.

The fixtures have been embroiled in controversy since the two teams were drawn to play each other.

Republic of Ireland players faced calls to withdraw from the games because of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war with a "Stop The Game" campaign - organised by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine - gathering pace.

"One of their requests is to remove their media obligations for the remainder of this window," Courell said at Saturday's delayed news conference.

"They also have the intention to wear black armbands in recognition of all lives lost in the [Gaza] conflict.

"There will be elements of the pre-match ceremony not be partaken in by the Republic of Ireland and it is also the intention of the players to make a significant contribution to charitable donation by virtue of both [Israel] match fees and also the fixture against Austria at the Aviva [Stadium in Dublin on Thursday]."

There appeared to be real doubt on Saturday morning whether the fixture would take place.

A pre-match news conference with manager Heimir Hallgrimsson and a player, scheduled for 09:15 BST, was postponed just 15 minutes before it was scheduled to start, with reporters informed it would instead take place after the team's training session which was also delayed.

The players were locked in a meeting back at their hotel after it emerged a player, believed to be goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, withdrew from the game in protest with several other expressing their concerns about fielding.

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.

More than five hours after the initial news conference was scheduled to begin, Courell - flanked by Hallgrimsson and FAI director of football John Martin - confirmed a players' vote passed by a "significant majority" to play the game.

"This morning, a player expressed their discomfort at the fixture and indicated their intent to withdraw," Courell confirmed.

"This new variable required time for the rest of the squad to consider and what proceeded was another four hours of conversations, predominantly among the players, but also at times with coaching staff and the [FAI] executive.

"There were a lot of positions presented and the association is fully respectful of everyone's right to their respective opinion."

'It's a situation you can't win' - Hallgrimsson

Former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr and ex-international James McClean are among those to have backed calls for a boycott of the fixtures.

The armed Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

In response, Israel launched a massive military offensive in Gaza, during which more than 73,000 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Hallgrimsson relayed that nobody "can understand the pressure that has been going on these players" and said the lengthy meeting on Saturday stemmed from "a change of mind for one of the players to play the game".

"All of the rest of the players are training today," he confirmed.

"The balance [to play] changed with this [withdrawal] and obviously it was an ongoing discussion but we came to a conclusion and the game is going ahead.

"We will train and there will probably be more discussions tonight and probably tomorrow. It's a unique situation and we are just trying to limit the damage."

Republic of Ireland lost their opening Nations League fixture in Kosovo on Thursday, a match overshadowed in the build-up by the Israel games.

Asked whether the far from ideal build-up to tomorrow's game will affect the players, the Irish boss said "we will see".