Pressure to boycott upcoming Nations League games against Israel over that country's actions in Gaza took its toll on the Ireland team Saturday when players talked for hours, voted on their participation, and one departed the squad.
Ireland is due to play Israel in Debrecen, Hungary in the first of those games Sunday, but the team’s press conference and training session Saturday were delayed by more than five hours as the players again held discussions among themselves in the team hotel over whether they should play.
Bazunu takes a stand
Gavin Bazunu later confirmed on social media that he had left the squad. He said he felt it would be "wrong to participate" in the games "based purely upon my personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong."
The 24-year-old reserve goalkeeper stressed his stance was “not in opposition of the Israeli people or the Jewish community but against the atrocities in the region. There are few times where you get a chance in life to stand up for something bigger and I strongly believe that this is one of them.”
David Courell, the CEO of the Football Association of Ireland, said at a long-delayed press conference earlier that an unnamed player's “discomfort with fulfilling this fixture” had caused deliberations for the rest of the squad. He said a vote was taken among the players and that “a significant majority” favored continuing with the games.
“Based on that, the association took the decision on behalf of Irish football that this fixture would continue as we have always intended to fulfill the fixtures,” Courell said.
Bazunu, who reportedly told the team Friday night that he did not want to play, was not mentioned in the press conference, but Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said a player was leaving.
“All the rest of the players are training today,” Hallgrimsson said. “It’s an ongoing discussion and we haven’t come to a kind of conclusion on this, but we are going ahead, the game is going ahead, we’re going to train. And there will be more discussions tonight and probably tomorrow."
Black armbands
Courell said the players were uncomfortable dealing with questions “that are not about football” so they had requested not to have to deal with media obligations around Sunday's match.
“They also have the intention of wearing black armbands in recognition of all lives lost in the conflict," Courell said. "And also there will be elements of the pre-match ceremony that will not be partaken in.”
He added that both the players and the FAI will be making a “significant contribution” to charity from both match fees – neither of which is open to Irish fans – and from Ireland's game against Austria in Dublin on Oct. 1.
Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ said last week it will only provide stripped-back coverage of the games vs. Israel to meet contractual obligations — with no studio presentation, commentary on the international feed, or analysis — while it will also not accept advertising or sponsorship around either game.
RTÉ also announced last week that Ireland will boycott the Eurovision Song Contest for a second year over Israel's participation.
Pressure builds
The Ireland team has been coming under increasing pressure at home, where affinity with Palestinians is strong, to boycott the two games against Israel — Israel's “home” game Sunday and Ireland’s “home” game in Backa Topola, Serbia on Oct. 4.
The FAI said in June that Ireland's home game was moving to a neutral venue for "operational reasons" and that no fans will be present. That followed widespread calls to boycott the match, and the FAI's own motion the previous November calling on UEFA to ban Israel from club and international competitions.
“There’s a huge support – probably in Europe the biggest support – for Palestine in Ireland,” Hallgrimsson said. “And there’s been protests since the draw (in February) not to play this fixture. There’s been a protest from day one not to play the fixture in Ireland and that’s the pressure that the players will feel and the association will feel. I felt that pressure growing day by day and it’s getting almost to a breaking limit now.”
Ireland midfielder Jason Knight said after Thursday’s 1-0 loss in Kosovo that the players were in a difficult situation and that he didn’t think the matches should be going ahead.
Hallgrimsson previously said "we're not playing with genocide, we're playing against genocide. We're playing against Israel, we're not playing with Israel" — drawing a furious reaction from the Israeli soccer federation, which accused the Icelandic coach of "stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy."
The FAI had resisted calls to boycott the matches, arguing the team could be hit with punishing sanctions by UEFA. Ireland is co-hosting the 2028 European Championship with England, Wales and Scotland.
More than 160 Irish sportspeople signed an open letter urging the FAI to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the fixtures.
There were protesters outside the team hotel in Dublin last week calling on the players to boycott the games. The SIPTU trade union displayed a huge poster in central Dublin beside the River Liffey asking the players to “Go with your conscience!” and “Don't play with genocide” beside an image of a blood-splattered ball.
Former Ireland coach Brian Kerr said the FAI had “lost the respect of the Irish people” for going ahead with the games.
“The Irish people and the soccer-going public don’t want the games to be played,” Kerr said. “I think they’ve made their opinions clear over the last year. The FAI back in November actually went to UEFA and requested that Israel be put out of the tournament on a principle. And yet they went against that principle.”
UEFA did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday's developments.
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