The Republic of Ireland players bowed their heads during the Israel national anthem and refused to shake their opponents’ hands as they fulfilled a deeply contentious Uefa Nations League fixture in Debrecen, Hungary on Sunday night.
Ireland won the game 3-0, thanks to first-half goals by Troy Parrott, Adam Idah and Jack Moylan.
The Irish players wore black armbands during the game in recognition of all of those who have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, and while they stood together and faced a tricolour for the Irish national anthem, they bowed their heads for the duration of the Israel anthem.
The travelling FAI delegation, including chief executive David Courell and president Paul Cooke, made the same gesture. The players did not exchange handshakes as part of the prematch protocol, and Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson did not shake the hand of his opposing number on the Israel bench, Ran Ben Simon.
With Israel unable to host matches as normal, they nominated Debrecen in Hungary as their home venue for the match, and it was played in an almost empty stadium. Approximately 100 Israel fans were in attendance in the stands, along with a handful of Irish fans, despite the fact tickets were not intended to be sold to them.
The game was thrown into significant doubt on Saturday morning, as goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu told Hallgrímsson that he did not wish to participate in the Israel match on moral grounds. “There are few times when you get a chance in life to stand for something bigger and I strongly believe that this is one of them,” said Bazunu in a statement on Saturday evening.
When Bazunu withdrew, some Irish players reconsidered their own personal position on whether to proceed with the game. They missed their scheduled prematch training session as they deliberated among themselves in meetings at the team hotel.
The FAI ultimately decided to proceed with the match, confirming its decision at a press conference that started more than five hours after it was initially scheduled. Courell explained to the assembled media that the FAI would fulfil the match following a ballot among players. He said the vote returned a “significant majority” in favour of playing the game, but declined to give the numbers of the vote.
While Bazunu remains with the Irish squad and is available to play in the next Uefa Nations League match against Austria on Thursday, he did not join the Ireland squad at the Nagyerdei stadium in Debrecen for the match, instead remaining at the team hotel.
Attention will now switch to the game against Austria at the Aviva Stadium, which is expected to feature protests among supporters over the decision to fulfil the games against Israel. The Irish players have been subject to extreme criticism online for their involvement in the Israel games, and the vitriol has greatly increased following Bazunu’s withdrawal.
The FAI is meanwhile under scrutiny for its handling of the situation, which led to international headlines across Saturday afternoon questioning whether the game would be fulfilled. Former Ireland manager Brian Kerr called on the FAI board to resign during a television appearance on Saturday, saying he believes Bazunu is “feeling quite low and shunned by the players”.
Cooke and Courell are due to attend a meeting of the Oireachtas sports committee this Wednesday, along with FAI chairman Tony Keohane, HR director Aoife Rafferty and legal director Deirdre Ardagh. The invitation was initially issued as a follow-up to a previous meeting to discuss safeguarding measures at the FAI, but the meeting will be dominated by the saga around the Israel fixtures.
Meanwhile, Ireland and Israel are scheduled to meet again next Sunday in Backa Topola, Serbia. The game was supposed to be held at the Aviva Stadium, but the FAI moved the game to the remote Serbian venue as they feared it could be targeted by protesters advocating for a boycott of the Israel fixtures.
The FAI has not indicated that it won’t fulfil the return game next week, but the pressure on the Irish players to withdraw from the second game against Israel is unlikely to relent across the coming days, despite the comfortable winning margin in Hungary.