Israel v Republic of Ireland: Republic of Ireland news conference delayed before Israel game

The Republic of Ireland have delayed the pre-match news conference planned for Sunday’s Uefa Nations League game against Israel in Hungary – a fixture campaigners have called on them to boycott.

Heimir Hallgrimsson’s team are scheduled to meet in Debrecen at 19:45 BST, with the return fixture in Backa Topola, Serbia on 4 October.

They have faced calls to withdraw from the games because of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war with a “Stop The Game” campaign – organised by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine – gathering pace.

Former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr and ex-international James McClean are among those to have backed calls for a boycott.

However, there are also Irish supporters, perhaps less vocal, who have always believed that the match should be played with supporters in attendance.

Hallgrimsson and a player were scheduled to meet the media at 09:15 BST (10.15 local time), before training, but the conference was delayed shortly beforehand.

A Uefa official entered the room to inform waiting media teams that the press conference was postponed until after training, which would have been about 11:30 BST (12.30 local time).

But shortly afterwards, the Uefa official returned to the media room to announce that the Republic of Ireland’s training session had also been postponed, with no time given for when it might take place. There is also no confirmed time for the news conference.

The fixture has been embroiled in controversy since the two teams were drawn to play each other in Group B3.

A team meeting took place on Friday for players to air their views on Sunday’s game and the return fixture in Serbia.

The players were expected to release a statement at Saturday’s news conference, but the delay has added further uncertainty, with some reports of at least one player wishing to withdraw from the squad.

It has since emerged the news conference, scheduled to take place at the stadium, is now set to be staged at the team hotel, with Uefa unable to provide information regarding the delay.

The armed Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

In response, Israel launched a massive military offensive in Gaza, during which more than 73,000 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.