Republic of Ireland players vote to play Israel in Nations League as Gavin Bazunu boycotts fixture
Republic of Ireland confirm Nations League clash will go ahead after lengthy squad talks
The Republic of Ireland will fulfil their Nations League fixture against Israel in Debrecen on Sunday night after lengthy deliberations in Hungary resulted in a “significant majority” of the squad voting to play.
Training was delayed by five hours on Saturday while the players discussed whether to go ahead after growing domestic pressure to boycott the match because of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. FAI chief executive David Courell said one player expressed discomfort in the morning and indicated an intent to withdraw.
“This morning, a player expressed their discomfort at the fixture and indicated their intent to withdraw,” Courell said. “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.”
Black armbands and pre-match gestures
The squad agreed a set of measures to signal unease. Players intend to wear black armbands “in recognition of all lives lost in the [Gaza] conflict” and will not take part in elements of the pre-match ceremony, including the handshake and exchange of pennants.
Courell said the players also intend to make a significant charitable contribution from match fees from both the Israel fixture and Thursday’s game against Austria at the Aviva Stadium, and that one of their requests is to remove media obligations for the remainder of the window.
“They also have the intention to wear black armbands in recognition of all lives lost in the [Gaza] conflict,” Courell said. “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.”
Gavin Bazunu withdraws
The player who withdrew is goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. He later posted on social media explaining his decision.
“I am a man of strong faith and try my best to be a person of character and principle, therefore I feel it would be wrong to participate in the upcoming fixtures against Israel,” Bazunu wrote. “My decision is based purely upon my personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong. It is important to note that my stance is not in opposition of the Israel people or the Jewish community but against the atrocities in the region.”
He added: “Representing my country means everything to me. I have the utmost respect for every single one of my teammates, the manager, his staff, and the Irish people. There are few times when you get a chance in life to stand up for something bigger and I strongly believe that this is one of them.”
Manager under pressure
Head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson said nobody “can understand the pressure that has been going on these players” and confirmed all the rest of the squad trained on Saturday.
“All of the rest of the players are training today,” he said. “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.”
Hallgrímsson was again questioned over remarks earlier this week in which he described his team as “playing against genocide”. He said he regretted the word choice.
“It was a wrong word for me to use,” he said. “It was a strong word. I meant to say that by playing we are not accepting what is happening. If a player chooses to play in the fixture he is not supporting or agreeing with anything in Gaza. We are not playing with that word, we are playing against it.”
He added: “Nobody is comfortable but it’s about limiting the damage, both personally and for Irish football… There is no action we do that everyone will agree to, so we need to find a solution to limit the damage for us as a group, for Ireland as a nation and the association for football in Ireland.”
Israel reaction
Israel FA head of communications Shlomi Barzel welcomed the decision to play, saying “football has won” and stressing the separation of football and politics.
“The separation between football and politics must be maintained, any other approach spell chaos,” he said. “The Irish football association and the national team players did the right thing by recognising this, even if it took a bit longer than it should. Yet, it is better to be late than never.”
Israel confirmed they intend to engage in all pre-match formalities, with head coach Ran Ben-Shimon saying he will shake hands with Hallgrímsson. Captain Dor Peretz remained on script at the Israeli press conference.
The Israel FA also announced an appeal of both yellow cards shown to Sayed Abu Farhi in Thursday’s 3-1 defeat by Austria. Abu Farhi was dismissed after celebrating an equaliser by uprooting the corner flag.
The Republic lost their opening Nations League fixture in Kosovo on Thursday. Former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr and ex-international James McClean are among those who have backed calls for a boycott of the fixtures.