Republic of Ireland confirm Israel game will go ahead

Republic of Ireland have confirmed that Sunday’s UEFA Nations League B3 fixture against Israel will proceed in Debrecen, Hungary. Uncertainty surrounded the match on Saturday morning after a pre‑match press conference featuring manager Heimir Hallgrimsson and a player, originally set for 09:15 BST, was delayed by 15 minutes and subsequently rescheduled to follow the team’s training session. The training session, slated for 10:00 BST, concluded with the squad still housed in their hotel, where reporters had gathered awaiting an update. Players remained in a meeting, during which unconfirmed reports indicated that several internationals, including goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, had voiced a wish to withdraw from the encounter, raising doubts about whether the game would take place. At approximately 13:00 BST, players began to leave the meeting room, and it was then announced that the press conference would go ahead, now scheduled for 14:30 BST at the Nagyerdei Stadion, with a training session to follow. More than five hours after the original press conference was due to start, FAI chief executive David Courell – standing beside Hallgrimsson and the FAI director of football – confirmed that a players’ ballot had been carried by a significant majority in favour of playing the match. Further details are expected.