Journalists in Debrecen were told the media event would wait until after training, then training itself was held back. RTÉ reported players were still at their hotel more than two hours after they were due on the pitch, and that some did not want to play.
Israel’s designated home fixture is at the Nagyerdei Stadium on Sunday. The return, listed as Ireland’s home game, is set for 4 October in Bačka Topola, Serbia, behind closed doors. Israel has staged UEFA “home” matches in Hungary since 2023.
Later on Saturday the Football Association of Ireland said the squad would fulfil the fixture after a players’ vote produced a “significant majority” in favour of playing. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew and will not take part. The team intends to wear black armbands “in recognition of all lives lost in the [Gaza] conflict” and to skip handshakes and a pennant exchange.
Midfielder Jason Knight said after Thursday’s 1-0 defeat in Kosovo that the players were in a difficult position and that he did not think the matches should go ahead. Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson had earlier said: “We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel.” The Israeli football federation called those remarks “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy”.
The FAI had resisted a full boycott, citing possible UEFA sanctions. Ireland is co-hosting Euro 2028 with England, Wales and Scotland. More than 160 Irish sportspeople signed an open letter urging a rethink. Protesters gathered outside the team hotel in Dublin. Former coach Brian Kerr said the FAI had “lost the respect of the Irish people” after previously asking UEFA to exclude Israel.
Hallgrímsson said nobody was comfortable with the game and that the squad was trying to “limit the damage”. The match is still scheduled for Sunday.