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Ireland coach Hallgrimsson confirms second Israel game will go ahead / Photo: © AFP/File
Ireland coach Hallgrimsson confirms second Israel game will go ahead
Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said on Wednesday they will play their second Nations League match against Israel Sunday after the first fixture was thrown into doubt by player concerns over the Gaza war.
Ireland beat Israel 3-0 in Hungary on Sunday following a turbulent build-up in which the squad voted to fulfil the fixture after goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu pulled out a day before the game.
"The FAI (Football Association of Ireland) has said we are playing both games. That was our intention when we came into the camp and it is still our intention," the Icelandic coach told a press conference in Dublin.
"We are trying to focus on the football. It is already decided we will fulfil the games," he added.
Ireland face Austria on Thursday in Dublin before their designated home match against Israel, which will be played behind closed doors in Backa Topola, Serbia.
During Sunday's match in Debrecen, Ireland's players wore black armbands in recognition of all the lives lost in the Gaza conflict and bowed their heads as the Israeli national anthem was played at the near-empty stadium.
The teams skipped the traditional pre-match handshakes and did not exchange pennants.
Hallgrimsson said on Wednesday the Irish players would again wear black armbands during the second fixture, and bow their heads during the Israeli anthem.
Only one player, goalkeeper Bazunu, pulled out before the first game, saying "it would be wrong to participate" in either the match or the return fixture in Serbia due to the "killing of innocent people".
Since Ireland were drawn in the same Nations League group as Israel in February, sportspeople, fan groups and pro-Palestinian campaigners have called for the fixtures to be boycotted.
The FAI itself requested last year that UEFA suspend Israel but failed to secure sufficient support from European football chiefs.
The association moved the October 4 match from Dublin to Serbia citing "operational challenges".
Israel strongly rejects allegations its conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide.
Hamas militants launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a massive Israeli military offensive.
E.R. Xavier--JDB
