Republic of Ireland confirm Israel Nations League clash will go ahead after players' vote

The Republic of Ireland have ended a day of mounting uncertainty by confirming that Sunday's Uefa Nations League B3 fixture against Israel will go ahead as planned in Debrecen, Hungary.

There appeared to be real doubt on Saturday morning whether the fixture would take place at all. A pre-match news conference involving manager Heimir Hallgrimsson and a player, scheduled for 09:15 BST, was postponed just 15 minutes before it was due to start, with reporters informed it would instead take place after the team's training session.

That training session, scheduled for 10:00 BST, also came and went with the squad still at their hotel, where reporters had relocated in anticipation of a statement. The players were locked in a meeting, with unconfirmed reports that several players, including goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, expressed their wish to withdraw from the game — prompting serious questions over whether the match would proceed.

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.

Over five hours after the initial news conference was due to begin, Football Association of Ireland (FAI) CEO David Courell — flanked by Hallgrimsson and the FAI Director of Football — confirmed a players' vote passed by a significant majority to play the game.