Ireland’s match against Israel thrown into chaos as Bazunu tells squad he does not want to play

The FAI chief executive David Courell has confirmed that the Republic of Ireland will fulfill the Nations League fixture against Israel at the Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen on Sunday night following a “significant majority” vote by the Irish players on Friday afternoon.

Gavin Bazunu is the only player to pull out of the game.

“All the rest of the players are at training today,” said Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson. “The game is going ahead but there will be more discussions tonight and tomorrow. We are trying to limit the damage.”

Bazunu informed the squad on Friday that he did not wish to participate in the Israel games, tomorrow and on October 4th behind closed doors in Bačka Topola, Serbia.

Hallgrímsson did not speak to Bazunu before he linked up with the group last week. Courell would not reveal the vote numbers.