The Republic of Ireland’s Nations League fixtures against Israel will be played after the squad voted on Saturday in favour of going ahead, ending a morning of uncertainty that had put Sunday’s opening match in doubt.
The first of the games is scheduled for Debrecen in Hungary. The pre-match press conference, due to start at 10.15am local time, was held over until the afternoon, and the training session planned at the Nagyerdei Stadium 45 minutes later was also delayed. A group of players are believed to have met at the team hotel after missing the original press conference, with head coach Heimir HallgrÃmsson and FAI chief executive David Courell present at the rescheduled media appearance. Uefa officials were unclear on the reason for the hold-up, although the players had said on Friday that they would meet to discuss the situation.
The Football Association of Ireland confirmed the fixture would go ahead following that consultation. “The Association made this decision following consultation with the Republic of Ireland players who shared different views and a majority expressed that the fixtures should be played,” the FAI said. “The Association respects the views of all players involved and appreciates the level of sensitivity concerning these fixtures.”
The delay came after reports that a player statement would be released before the originally scheduled press conference, and speculation on Saturday morning that a player had refused to play in the match. Teams that fail to meet their obligations can be subject to warnings or fines from Uefa.
Ireland’s campaign had begun on Thursday with a 1-0 defeat to Kosovo in Pristina. Speaking after that game, the midfielder Jason Knight said the situation had been difficult to process. “It’s difficult. I don’t think the game should be going ahead, but it is going ahead,” he said. “We’ll have a deeper talk about it and what that means, we’ll get our thoughts as a group and go from there.”
Knight added that he intended to concentrate on the football once the discussions were done. “None of us have gone through this scenario before, but I’d like to think I’m experienced, thick-skinned and I can get through most things and that is what I will try to do,” he said. “I’ll try to focus on the football as much as I can. I’ll give my view and my thoughts on it when I see fit, but I’ll be trying to focus on the football as much as possible.”