Republic of Ireland players vote to face Israel
FAI chief executive David Courell said the players intended to wear black armbands in recognition of all lives lost in the conflict.
Republic of Ireland players have voted by a “significant majority” to face Israel, David Courell, the chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), told reporters in Debrecen, Hungary.
In a short written statement, the FAI said the 2026-27 Nations League fixtures against Israel would be fulfilled. The players had “shared different views”, the statement added, and “a majority expressed that the fixtures should be played”.
The first game is due at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen on 27 September 2026.
Courell said the squad had agreed on 25 September to go ahead with the game.
But on the morning of 26 September, one player told the head coach, Heimir Hallgrímsson, of discomfort with the fixture and an intention to withdraw from the squad.
Four more hours of talks followed, mostly among the players themselves but at times with the coaching staff and the association’s executive.
The vote was held in roughly the last 90 minutes before the news conference, which started more than five hours late.
Hallgrímsson confirmed that one player had pulled out of the squad. The FAI has not named the player.
The game was going ahead, the head coach said, but nobody was comfortable and it was about limiting the damage, both personally and for Irish football.
The players will not take part in parts of the pre-match ceremony, Courell said, and at their own request will do no media work for the rest of the international window.
The players and the association also intend to make a significant charitable donation from match fees and from revenue generated by the game against Austria at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 1 October 2026.
What a refusal would cost
In June, the FAI set out what a refusal would mean. Under Uefa rules the match would be forfeited, and further disciplinary measures, including potential disqualification from the competition, may follow.
Forfeiting six points could lead to relegation to League C and weaken Ireland’s chances of qualifying for Euro 2028.
The same statement said the FAI was “deeply conscious of the suffering and devastation being endured by civilians in Gaza”.
It said the FAI continued to reflect the sentiment of a motion passed by members in November 2025, seeking the Israel Football Association’s immediate suspension from Uefa competitions for a breach of Uefa statutes.
On 8 July, an extraordinary general meeting of FAI members backed fulfilling the fixtures by 75 votes to 32.
Ireland’s home fixture against Israel, on 4 October 2026, was moved to Bačka Topola in Serbia because of what the FAI called “operational challenges”, and will be played behind closed doors.