Ireland undecided on second Israel match: Hallgrimsson

In Sunday’s match in Debrecen, Ireland’s players wore black armbands to honour the lives lost in the Gaza conflict and bowed their heads when the Israeli national anthem was played. Teams also skipped pre-match handshakes and the exchange of pennants.  | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Ireland is yet to decide how it will approach its second Nations League match against Israel on Sunday, coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said as reported by Irish media on Tuesday.

His comments come two days after Ireland beat Israel 3-0 in Hungary after a controversy-ridden build-up and loud calls to boycott the fixture over Israel’s war in Gaza. The squad voted to go ahead with the fixture despite there being unease among players over the humanitarian atrocities in occupied Palestine.

“We haven’t decided what we will do 100 percent,” Hallgrimsson said when asked about the return fixture.

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“When we get home tonight, we’ll give them a day off tomorrow to go home, and share a day with their families and friends and loved ones, and then we’ll come back and prepare for the Austria game.

“Hopefully we can finish that one and take a discussion.”

Ireland faces Australia in Dublin on Thursday before the Israel game which is to be played behind closed doors in Backa Topola, Serbia.

“All I can say is I think we are all uncomfortable, number one,” he said.

“Number two, we have different opinions, and we should allow people to have different opinions. It’s not one opinion that’s right and all the others are wrong.”

In Sunday’s match in Debrecen, Ireland’s players wore black armbands to honour the lives lost in the Gaza conflict and bowed their heads when the Israeli national anthem was played. Teams also skipped pre-match handshakes and the exchange of pennants.

Only one player, goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, pulled out, saying “it would be wrong to participate” in either the match or the return fixture in Serbia on October 4 due to the “killing of innocent people”.

Israel strongly rejects allegations that its conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide.