The Republic of Ireland have confirmed that Sunday’s Uefa Nations League B3 game against Israel in Debrecen, Hungary, will go ahead. The fixture had been in doubt on Saturday morning before the Football Association of Ireland provided clarity.
A pre-match news conference with manager Heimir Hallgrimsson and a player had been scheduled for 09:15 BST. It was postponed 15 minutes before it was due to start, with reporters told it would take place after the team’s training session. That training session, planned for 10:00 BST, did not go ahead as scheduled, and the team remained at their hotel, where reporters had gathered in anticipation of a statement.
The players were locked in a meeting. There were unconfirmed reports that several players, including goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, had expressed a wish to withdraw from the game, leading to questions over whether it would proceed. Around 13:00 BST, players began to leave the meeting room, and it was then confirmed that the news conference would go ahead back at Nagyerdei Stadion at 14:30, with training to follow.
More than five hours after the initial news conference had been due to begin, FAI CEO David Courell, flanked by Hallgrimsson and the FAI’s director of football, confirmed that a players’ vote had passed by a significant majority to play the game.