Ireland players proceed with Israel fixture after boycott calls
publishers 24articles 39first reported 24 Sep, 14:36 UTCdeveloping since 30 Sep · 14 editions
Republic of Ireland players voted to proceed with their UEFA Nations League games against Israel after the fixtures prompted boycott calls over the war in Gaza, CNN reported. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew from the squad, according to ESPN and CNN.
The Irish team’s preparations in Hungary were disrupted before Sunday’s match in Debrecen. A scheduled news conference and training session were postponed while players met at their hotel. The news conference was later rearranged, with training also rescheduled.
The campaign group Irish Sport for Palestine had urged Ireland to withdraw from the games. Former Ireland manager Brian Kerr and former international James McClean backed the boycott call. After a 1-0 loss to Kosovo, midfielder Jason Knight said he did not think the Israel match should go ahead, while winger Chiedozie Ogbene asked the public not to pressure the players over their response.
During the match against Israel, Ireland’s players wore black armbands and did not shake hands with their opponents, AP reported. BBC also reported that the teams did not exchange handshakes before the fixture.
The teams were scheduled to meet again in Backa Topola, Serbia, on October 4. The controversy also affected media proceedings, with Sky News reporting that an Ireland news conference later descended into chaos following questions from Israeli journalists.
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 68 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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- Source articles
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- Given to the writer
- 8, 2 with the article's own text
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- This version written
- 68 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- kept as written
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