Republic of Ireland to play Nations League match against Israel following players' meeting
FAI confirms fixture in Debrecen will proceed after team meeting delays pre-match schedule
Quick Look
- The Republic of Ireland's Nations League match against Israel in Debrecen will proceed as scheduled.
- The decision followed a lengthy team meeting and a player vote, which caused the postponement of Saturday's pre-match press conference and training session.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Republic of Ireland is scheduled to play Israel in a Uefa Nations League B3 fixture in Debrecen, Hungary.
The Republic of Ireland have confirmed Sunday's Uefa Nations League B3 game against Israel in Debrecen, Hungary will go ahead.
There appeared to be real doubt on Saturday morning whether the fixture would take place.
A pre-match news conference with 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 team still in their hotel where reporters 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 leading to questions whether the game would go ahead.
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 FAI Director of Football - confirmed a players' vote passed by a significant majority to play the game.
Open Questions
- What were the specific concerns raised by players during the meeting?
