Irish football chief defends controversial decision to play against Israel: ‘We’ve handled the week quite well’
Football Association of Ireland president Paul Cooke has defended the governing body's management of the fallout surrounding their controversial Nations League fixture against Israel, insisting officials "handled the week quite well".
The Republic ultimately secured a 3-0 victory in Hungary on Sunday. However, the match had hung in the balance the previous morning after goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew from selection, explaining in an Instagram statement that he felt it would be "wrong to participate".
His decision prompted an emergency summit and a squad vote on Saturday morning, which FAI chief David Courell stated resulted in a "significant majority" voting to proceed with the fixture. The game subsequently went ahead in Hungary in front of around 150 Israeli spectators and a small gathering of Irish fans.
Reflecting on the match, Cooke praised the squad’s composure and resolve.
"I think we’ve handled the week quite well," he said. "Before we get into that, I think if you look at the courage, the performance, the way they conducted themselves, everybody that was here tonight, those 20-odd players walked out as a nation, as a country, as a footballing organisation.
"We should be so proud of the difficulties that they’ve encountered."
The fixture was played in accordance with an extraordinary general meeting on 8 July, where the FAI general assembly voted 75-32, alongside three abstentions, in favour of a motion "fulfilling its obligations" by playing Israel, "while acknowledging the strength of feeling regarding support for Palestine".
Delegates were asked to "recognise the profound impact that any non-fulfilment… would have on Irish football", specifically highlighting potential "undetermined" disciplinary measures that Cooke indicated remained vaguely defined even following Sunday's victory.
While basic sanctions are established - Uefa regulations state a team forfeiting a match is handed an automatic 3-0 defeat—the FAI had previously warned in June that forfeiting games "could lead to relegation to League C in the Nations League, and weaken our qualifying potential to Uefa Euro 2028".
A statement issued prior to July’s EGM also flagged a "significant financial impact", which the FAI calculated to be at least 5.5 million euros (£4.7m).
Cooke observed that Uefa had "never communicated anything specifically" concerning potential sanctions beyond published guidelines. To illustrate the ambiguity, he cited Southampton’s removal from last season’s Championship play-off final following the "spygate" controversy, adding: "Southampton got a taste of what an undetermined sanction would be.
"We are charged with what is good for Irish football and the future of Irish football."
The Republic now return to Dublin to host Austria at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday, a fixture accompanied by continued scrutiny as elements of the public remain dissatisfied with the decision to play and the FAI’s wider approach.
Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side will subsequently travel to Serbia for the return ‘home’ fixture against Israel, which is set to take place behind closed doors in Backa Topola.
Cooke emphasised that the FAI "respected" the squad's vote to play in Hungary, stating: "The players are the ultimate."
The FAI president maintained the association is approaching the schedule "one game at a time". Pressed on whether a similar vote could precede the return match against Israel, he remarked: "I’m not going to mention a vote. At the moment, the intention is to play the game.
"If somebody said they didn’t want to play the game or whatever, we would look at that. We always respect people’s views. We are a democratic, transparent organisation."
