Pressure to boycott Ireland’s Nations League matches against Israel intensified on Saturday after the team’s scheduled news conference and training session in Debrecen, Hungary, were delayed.
Ireland are due to face Israel in the latter’s designated home fixture on Sunday, with a second meeting scheduled for October 4 in Backa Topola, Serbia. Journalists were told the news conference would be held after training only 15 minutes before it was due to begin.
Training was then also significantly delayed. Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported that the players remained at their hotel more than two hours after the session was expected to start.
RTÉ further reported that some members of the squad had decided they did not want to play. Reporter Tony O’Donoghue said: “And if they stay to their stated ambition that they have to be all in it together, if one or more want to be out, maybe they will all be out.”
Ireland midfielder Jason Knight said after Thursday’s 1-0 defeat by Kosovo that the players were in a difficult position and that he did not believe the matches should be taking place.
Pressure grows on Football Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland has resisted calls to withdraw from the fixtures, arguing that the team could face severe sanctions from UEFA. Ireland is due to co-host the 2028 European Championship with England, Wales and Scotland.
More than 160 Irish sportspeople have signed an open letter urging the FAI to reconsider its decision. Protesters also gathered outside the team hotel in Dublin last week to call on the players to boycott the matches.
The SIPTU trade union displayed a large poster beside the River Liffey, carrying the messages “Go with your conscience!” and “Don’t play with genocide”, alongside an image of a blood-splattered football.
Former Ireland manager Brian Kerr said the FAI had “lost the respect of the Irish people” by proceeding 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 principle. And yet they went against that principle.”
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has previously said: “We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel.” The Israeli football federation responded by accusing the Icelandic coach of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy”.
