Football Live | Israel v Republic of Ireland

Israel v Republic of Ireland | Nations League

This is about far more than football...

Author | Sean M

Republic of Ireland face Ireland in a Nations League match but many have called for the Irish players and coaching staff to boycott the fixture. 

Keep reading for all latest developments

Update a few hours before kick-off. Match expected to be played out.

Republic of Ireland players will wear black armbands "in recognition of all lives lost in the [Gaza] conflict" for Sunday's Nations League game against Israel in Hungary, after confirming they will go ahead with the match. 

Football Association of Ireland chief executive David Courell confirmed one player (Gavin Bazunu) has withdrawn from the squad before the match. Many Irish fans have praised the player with one saying : "he has shown a backbone sadly lacking amongst so many."

News conference delay. Will the game go ahead?

The Republic of Ireland have delayed their pre-match news conference ahead of Sunday's Uefa Nations League meeting with Israel in Hungary, a fixture campaigners have called on them to boycott.

Heimir Hallgrimsson's side are due to face Israel in Debrecen at 19:45 BST, with the return fixture scheduled for 4 October in Backa Topola, Serbia.

There have been calls for Ireland to withdraw from the games because of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, with the "Stop The Game" campaign, organised by pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine, gathering momentum.

How one media outlet is reporting 

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

Does everyone want to boycott?

There are also Irish supporters, perhaps less vocal, who have consistently argued that the fixture should go ahead with fans in attendance.

After Thursday's 1-0 defeat by Kosovo, midfielder Jason Knight said he did not think "the game should be going ahead", while winger Chiedozie Ogbene urged the public not to "put the pressure on us" over the team's approach to the scheduled match.

Hallgrimsson and a player had been due to face the media at 09:15 BST, or 10:15 local time, before training, but the news conference was postponed shortly beforehand.

A Uefa official entered the room to tell waiting media teams that the press conference had been pushed back until after training, which was expected to take place at around 11:30 BST, or 12:30 local time.

However, the Uefa official returned shortly afterwards to announce that the Republic of Ireland's training session had also been postponed, with no new time given.

There is currently no confirmed time for either the training session or the pre-match news conference.