Irish goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu boycotts Nations League matches against Israel

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is creating turmoil in the world of sport. In football, if the Irish players decided in a vote to play the two matches scheduled against Israel in the League of Nations, their goalkeeper withdrew to protest against the war in Gaza.

Gavin Bazunu chooses boycott

“We organized a vote within the team to determine their feelings about playing the matches” against Israel, this Sunday in Debrecen, Hungary, then on October 4 in Backa Topola, Serbia, announced the president of the Irish Football Federation (FAI), David Courell, during a press conference in Debrecen. A “significant majority” have expressed their intention to play, he added, while the debate agitating the Irish selection has lasted for days.

Present at this press conference, Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson clarified without naming him that a player had decided to withdraw from the team for these matches. But goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu announced on Instagram that he would not play these matches. “My decision is based solely on my personal conviction that killing innocent people is unjustifiable,” explained the goalkeeper of the English club Bolton. “No one is comfortable with playing these matches, for many reasons,” said Heimir Hallgrimsson.

“What satisfies us today is that football has won,” responded the Israeli football federation. “Those who certainly lost today are those who wanted to intimidate, divide and transform the football field into a political arena,” added the body.

Ireland will play with a black armband

According to David Courell, Irish players will not have any interaction with the press this Sunday, nor during the next matches, against Austria in Dublin on October 1 or again against Israel three days later. On Sunday, they will wear a black armband “for all the lives lost in this Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, and there will be no handshakes or exchange of pennants before kick-off. Proceeds from the match against Austria will also go to charitable organizations.

Our articles on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Ireland has a long history of strong support for the Palestinian cause, partly linked to its own history and British rule. The question of Sunday's football match comes days after public television RTE announced that Dublin would boycott the Eurovision song contest again in 2027, due to Israel's participation. And if RTE cannot reproduce such a scenario in football, since it is contractually obliged to broadcast the matches, it has announced that the match in Debrecen will be broadcast without commentary.