Ireland to fulfil second Israel Nations League fixture, Hallgrimsson says
September 30, 2026 14:00
WHAT HAPPENED
Hallgrimsson spoke ahead of Ireland’s home match with Austria, reiterating that “the FAI has said we are playing both games” and that “it is still our intention” to fulfil the scheduled fixtures. His comment follows a 3-0 win over Israel in Hungary on Sunday, a match the Republic played after players voted to fulfil that fixture.
There was disruption around the first Israel game: the team’s pre-match news conference was postponed and later began more than five hours late after a squad meeting, and FAI chief executive David Courell said a players’ vote to play passed by a “significant majority”. During the match the Ireland players did not take part in pre-match formalities, wore black armbands and bowed their heads during Israel’s national anthem.
CONTEXT
Calls to withdraw from the fixtures have come amid the Israel–Gaza war, including an open letter from the Stop The Game campaign organised by Irish Sport for Palestine asking the Republic of Ireland to pull out of Sunday’s behind-closed-doors match in Serbia. Hallgrimsson said he would “let others think about security and those things” and that he was focused on preparing for opponents, describing Austria as “the highest-ranked team in the group” and adding, “I’m not going to allow outside noise to affect me focusing on football.” The Republic’s most recent home friendly, against Qatar in May, was disrupted when fans threw tennis balls bearing the Palestine flag onto the pitch.
PLAYER UPDATES
Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu made himself unavailable for both Israel games but returned to training ahead of the Austria match. Hallgrimsson praised Bazunu and criticised “a lot of lies” reported about the goalkeeper’s decision. He confirmed Luton keeper Josh Keeley will take Bazunu’s place in the squad for the second Israel game.
Midfielder Finn Azaz was an unused substitute in the 3-0 win; Hallgrimsson praised his “incredible emotional control” and said he admired how Azaz had conducted himself, but would not confirm whether he will be selected for the second Israel fixture.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Ireland were due to play Austria in Dublin (the match Hallgrimsson was speaking before) and are scheduled to play the second Israel game on Sunday, behind closed doors in Serbia.