Ireland beat Israel 3-0 after players vote to proceed with disputed fixture
publishers 24articles 34first reported 24 Sep, 14:36 UTCdeveloping since 24 Sep · 8 editions
The Republic of Ireland beat Israel 3-0 in a UEFA Nations League match in Debrecen, Hungary, on Sunday after a majority of Irish players voted to proceed despite calls for a boycott over the war in Gaza.
Ireland’s players declined to shake hands with their Israeli opponents before kickoff, bowed their heads during the Israeli national anthem and wore black armbands in memory of people killed in Israel’s military operation in Gaza. Troy Parrott opened the scoring in the 14th minute, Adam Idah added a second two minutes later and Jack Moylan made it 3-0 in the 25th.
The match had appeared uncertain a day earlier as players and coaches held extended talks, delaying a scheduled news conference and training. Football Association of Ireland chief executive David Courell said a “significant majority” of the squad voted to play and that the association decided to fulfill the fixture.
Reserve goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew from the squad for this game and a second match against Israel during the international window. The return fixture, originally scheduled for Dublin on October 4, was moved to Backa Topola, Serbia, because of security concerns and is due to be played behind closed doors.
The Debrecen match took place in a largely empty stadium, with a few hundred Israeli supporters and a small number of Irish fans present. Al Jazeera reported that Israeli supporters chanted military slogans after the defeat.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 2 with the publisher's own text; 7 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 36 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
- Publishers
- 24
- Source articles
- 34
- Given to the writer
- 8, 2 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 7
- This version written
- 36 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →