Decision made. It is now known whether the UEFA Nations League match between Israel and Ireland will go ahead

The Israel–Ireland match will go ahead despite serious divisions within the Irish squad. In the final 90 minutes before the press conference, the players held a vote on whether to take part in the upcoming fixture.

As Football Association of Ireland chief executive David Courell stated, a “significant majority” of the players voted in favor of playing the match, after which the FAI decided to continue preparations for the fixture.

Earlier, Ireland players considered refusing to take the field because of the situation in Gaza. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu was among those who opposed taking part.

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Head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson said that before the start of the training camp, he had spoken only with the outfield players. At the press conference, questions were also raised about the FAI’s decision-making process. It was eventually clarified that Bazunu had not been consulted during the discussions either.

Hallgrímsson also faced further questions from an Israeli journalist. The coach had previously said that Ireland was “playing against genocide.”