“Nobody is comfortable playing this game,” Ireland’s coach declares after a tense locker-room vote to proceed with Sunday’s Nations League match against Israel.
DUBLIN — Ireland’s football players voted behind closed doors Saturday to proceed with their match against Israel — but their coach conceded that his squad was close to “breaking” over the matter.
Ireland’s Icelandic coach, Heimir Hallgrímsson, faced a locker-room revolt as one of his players, substitute goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, told him he wouldn’t suit up. Training and press conferences were postponed as rumors swirled as to whether others would join Bazunu, potentially leaving Hallgrímsson with too small of a squad to compete.
But after several hours of closed-doors discussions, Ireland’s 26-player squad voted on whether to play Israel — and, according to the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), most said yes.
The Nations League clash will be played Sunday at a neutral Hungarian venue and without Irish fans, amid demands of pro-Palestinian protesters in Ireland for the match to be cancelled.
During a press conference in Debrecen, Hungary, FAI chief executive David Courell said the match had been approved by “a significant majority,” but he declined to break down the precise vote.
Beside him, a downcast Hallgrímsson said they were legally and professionally obligated to play Israel even though his squad was “almost to a breaking limit now.”
“Nobody is comfortable playing this game,” Hallgrímsson said, describing the situation as a Catch-22. “It’s two choices and both are tough and bad. It’s a situation where you can’t win.”
When asked to confirm whether other players would join Bazunu in boycotting the match, Hallgrímsson demurred. “We haven’t come to a conclusion on this, but the game is going ahead,” he said. “We are trying to limit the damage.”
He said the Irish players planned to avoid any pre-game ceremonies with Israeli players, including the traditional handshakes, and would wear black armbands during the match “in recognition of all lives lost in the conflict.”
The FAI has been resisting protesters’ calls to boycott Israel ever since Ireland was drawn in February to play the Israelis twice. Sunday’s match in Debrecen is Israel’s “home” game, while the Dublin fixture set for October 4 has been moved to Serbia. Both matches are being televised in Ireland but with minimal commentary.
Relations between the two countries have steadily deteriorated since Israel launched its offensive on Gaza following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel in 2023.
Ireland, who has long sympathized with the Palestinian cause, infuriated Israel in 2024 by becoming one of the first European countries to recognize Palestinian statehood. Israel shut its Dublin embassy after Irish government leaders started to describe the mounting Gaza death toll and destruction as “genocidal”.
Israel’s coach, Ran Ben-Shimon, said he hoped Ireland’s staff and players would accept handshakes.
“We will put out our hands. If they don’t want to shake it, fine,” he told reporters Saturday night.
Earlier this week, in response to Hallgrímsson’s comment that Ireland’s team would be “playing against genocide,” the Israel Football Association condemned him as a figure of “ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity.”
This article was updated with remarks from Ran Ben-Shimon.