Ireland preparations delayed as calls to boycott Israel Nations League games intensify

Ireland’s press conference and training session ahead of Sunday’s Nations League fixture against Israel were delayed amid growing pressure for the team to boycott the two matches.

The game, in which Israel are the designated home side, will be played in Debrecen, Hungary. Journalists waiting there on Saturday were told the pre-match press conference would not take place until after training, just 15 minutes before it was due to start.

The training session was also substantially postponed. Irish broadcaster RTE reported that Ireland’s players remained at their hotel more than two hours after training was scheduled to begin.

RTE also reported that some members of the squad had decided they did not want to play.

“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,” reporter Tony O’Donoghue said on RTE Radio 1.

The pressure on the team has intensified in Ireland, where there is strong support for the Palestinian cause. The second fixture, described as Ireland’s home match, is scheduled for 4 October in Backa Topola, Serbia.

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 played.

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 comment prompted an angry response from the Israeli soccer federation, which accused the Icelandic coach of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy”.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has rejected calls to withdraw from the fixtures, warning that Ireland 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 calling on the FAI to reverse its decision to proceed with the games.

Protestors gathered outside the Ireland team hotel in Dublin last week, urging the players not to take part. The Siptu trade union also put up a large poster beside the River Liffey in central Dublin, 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 allowing the matches to go ahead.

“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 past year. The FAI 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.”