Ireland chaos: they will play against Israel, but four are refusing to take part

The head coach put the matter to a vote: the majority of the dressing room decided to take to the field, but not everyone agrees.

Ireland are in chaos. For months the national team, driven by their own fans, had been threatening to boycott the Nations League match, valid for matchday two of League B Group 2, against Israel. "Human reasons" and "solidarity with the Palestinian people", said the many demonstrators who gathered at the players' training camp in Dublin on the eve of their departure for the double away trip against Kosovo and, precisely, Israel, a match scheduled in Debrecen, Hungary.

THE CONDEMNATION - Politically, Ireland have firmly condemned Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip. "Sport runs into difficulty when it clashes with politics," Prime Minister Micheal Martin said at the time of the draw, explaining that "as a nation we have firmly condemned the policy of the Israeli government".

THE VOTES AND THE REBELS - Head coach Heimer Hallgrimsson decided to 'call' the dressing room together and put the issue to a vote: the majority of the players are said to have decided to take to the pitch, despite reservations over their opponents' participation in the competition. But a group of Irish players are ready to refuse to take to the pitch: leading the 'minority' defeated in the vote is second-choice goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, born in Dublin but of Nigerian origin, who chose not to train, stay at the hotel and ask the head coach and federation for clarification. Now anything can happen.