Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has confirmed that he spoke to all of his players individually about the prospect of facing Israel in the two upcoming Nations League games this month.
Debate as to whether the games, both to be played in neutral venues, should go ahead has been intense ever since the draw was made last spring and pressure has been put on both the FAI and the players, the latter via their agents, not to fulfil the fixture.
Hallgrimsson addressed the issue briefly on Thursday morning after he unveiled his 26-man squad for a four-game window that will see his side face Israel twice as well as Kosovo and Austria once apiece.
“I have spoken to all the players individually on that because you shouldn’t be doing this on a group talk. Obviously we have different opinions, different strength of opinions, and I think it is best to say, without going into individual, none of us feel comfortable playing these games.
“But, once we have decided to play them, we all stick together and play as one. And we want to represent Ireland with the best games and performances that we can. That’s the agreement between all of us, but obviously we don’t all share the same opinion, and that is just human nature.”
The comments come after FAI director of football John Martin said earlier this week that he feels Ireland shouldn’t be playing Israel in the upcoming Nations League campaign.
“There’s unease from everybody on this, from me personally, the (FAI) executive team and board,” said Martin, now a year in a job which places him in ultimate charge of the footballing operations.
“I think we all agree we shouldn’t be in the position where we have to play these games.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that we shouldn’t be in that position but the board, supported by the executive, chose to play the games.
“It’s a really difficult situation for the players. I’ve had a lot of communications with Heimir and obviously speak to players.
“Everything we’re doing is with a view to trying to protect players. In terms of ownership of the decision, it was us in the FAI, not the players. So we’re really conscious of that because their profile is so high that naturally the spotlight falls on them.”