September 28: After months of debate over whether it should happen, Ireland finally faced Israel on Sunday night and won 3-0 in Debrecen, Hungary.
First-half goals from Troy Parrott, Adam Idah and Jack Moylan settled the Nations League game before the break, giving Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side their first win of the campaign after Thursday’s 1-0 defeat in Kosovo.
Football was probably the easiest part of the evening.
Less than 36 hours earlier, the match had been in real doubt after goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew on moral grounds. His decision led to a lengthy meeting in the Ireland team hotel and an internal vote on whether the team should sit out the match.
In the end, the majority chose to play, and the FAI confirmed on Saturday that the two matches scheduled for Israel would go ahead.
Despite opting to watch the game, Ireland’s players still made their stance ultra-visible. They wore black armbands in recognition of the lives lost in the conflict, bowed their heads during the Israeli national anthem and did not exchange the usual handshakes or pennants before or after the game.
The match itself was played at the Nagyerdei Stadium in Hungary and not in Israel and in front of a few hundred spectators.
It brought to the pitch a dispute that has already involved UEFA, broadcasters, sponsors, campaign groups and both national associations.
The FAI had previously asked UEFA to consider Israel’s suspension and later called for Ireland and Israel to remain separate in future competition draws. UEFA rejected the latter request, saying that such restrictions are considered on a case-by-case basis and mainly when relationships create structural safety issues.
Hallgrimsson then inflamed matters further when he said Ireland was “playing against genocide” rather than “with Israel”. The Israeli FA responded by accusing him of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy”.
Although Israel again insisted it had done nothing wrong, Amnesty International sided with the FAI and subsequently again called for Israel’s suspension from UEFA and FIFA competition, while protests and calls for a boycott continued on Irish soil.
The commercial operation around the games has also been stripped back. RTÉ shows both matches only due to its contractual obligations, with no pundits, pundits, advertising or sponsorship in either match.
The FAI had estimated that refusing to play could directly cost Irish football around €5.5m, before possible competition sanctions and wider sporting consequences, such as not qualifying for future UEFA competitions, were considered.
For now, Ireland has fulfilled half of this obligation and has taken three points.
They face Austria in Dublin on Thursday before the whole issue comes up again three days later when Ireland’s nominal game against Israel is played behind closed doors in Bačka Topola, Serbia.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at harry.ewing@insideworldfootball.com
