Republic of Ireland Players to Wear Black Armbands for Israel Game
Republic of Ireland players intend to wear black armbands 'in recognition of all lives lost in the [Gaza] conflict' for their Nations League game against Israel in Hungary on Sunday.
The decision was made after a vote among the squad produced a 'significant majority' in favour of playing the game, despite controversy surrounding the fixture.
Players' Gesture of Solidarity
As well as wearing black armbands, the players will make further gestures for the initial game and the return 'home' fixture against Israel next Sunday in Serbia.
Football Association of Ireland (FAI) chief executive David Courell confirmed that one player, goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, has withdrawn from the squad before the match.
Courell added that the players will also make a significant contribution to charitable donation by virtue of both match fees and the fixture against Austria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Thursday.
Background to the Controversy
The fixtures have been embroiled in controversy since the two teams were drawn to play each other in Group B3.
Republic of Ireland players faced calls to withdraw from the games because of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war with a 'Stop The Game' campaign - organised by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine - gathering pace.
One of the requests made by the campaign was to remove their media obligations for the remainder of this window.
Former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr and ex-international James McClean are among those to have backed calls for a boycott of the fixtures.
The armed Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
In response, Israel launched a massive military offensive in Gaza, during which more than 73,000 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
IFA Response
Israel Football Association [IFA] head of communications Shlomi Barzel commended the Republic of Ireland team for confirming they will play, saying 'football has won'.
Barzel began Israel's news conference with a statement before requesting questions regarding the game-only were directed towards captain Dor Peretz and head coach Ran Ben-Shimon who remained on script.
He said, 'The separation between football and politics must be maintained, any other approach spell chaos.'
Barzel also confirmed the IFA intend to appeal both yellow cards shown to Sayed Abu Farhi in Thursday's 3-1 defeat by Austria.
