Voices have increased by a number of Irish national team fans and former players to cancel the upcoming match tomorrow, Sunday, against Israel, in the opening round of the European Nations League.
The intensity of the controversy reached its peak this evening, after the national team’s goalkeeper, Gavin Bazuno, announced during an internal team meeting that he refused to participate in the match. This coincided with the cancellation of a press conference scheduled for Saturday morning at the last minute, and the training was postponed for several hours amid a series of emergency meetings at the mission’s residence hotel in Hungary.
While it was reported that a number of players were considering supporting Bazunu in their protest move, a subsequent press conference was held in which it was announced that the large majority of players had voted in favor of playing the match.
The CEO of the Irish Football Association, David Correll, explained that the Federation held a ballot among the players about participation, stressing that the “vast majority” supported continuing play, and accordingly it was decided to go ahead with holding the match on time.
For his part, the national team’s coach, Heimir Hallgrimsson, confirmed that only one player had withdrawn from the team’s squad, declaring: “I do not think that anyone anywhere can comprehend the amount of pressure these players are exposed to.”
It is noteworthy that the first leg between Israel and Ireland will be held at the “Nagryde” Stadium in the Hungarian city of Debrecen, with the return match being played in Serbia on the fourth of next October.
