28 September 2026 , 08:41
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The Republic of Ireland squad refused to shake hands with Israel’s players before Sunday’s controversial UEFA Nations League game.
The Irish squad also bowed their heads during Israel’s national anthem after walking on to the pitch at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Hungary.
Following the anthems, the teams did not line up for the traditional pre-match handshakes and there was no exchance of pennants between the teams.
Republic of Ireland captain Dara O’Shea did not shake hands with Israel skipper Manor Solomon as the referee performed the coin toss before kick-off.
Whether the Republic of Ireland would even fulfil the fixture was in doubt up until Saturday morning amid calls for the team to withdraw due to the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
A ‘Stop The Game’ campaign, organised by the Irish Sport for Palestine, gained significant support but the squad voted to play the match in a meeting at the team’s hotel on Saturday.
Bolton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew from the squad, however, saying he felt it ‘would be wrong to participate’ in both this game and the return fixture on October 4, which will be played in Serbia.
The Football Association of Ireland also confirmed the players would wear black armbands ‘in recognition of all lives lost in the [Gaza] conflict’.
Former Tottenham striker Troy Parrott gave the visitors an early lead and made a heart gesture with his hands during his celebration.
Adam Idah and Jack Moylan also scored early goals as the Irish run riot in the early stages and opened up a 3-0 lead midway through the first half.
Moylan held up and kissed his black armband after putting the dominant Irish three goals ahead.
Speaking before the 3-0 win, Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson said: ‘It’s been one of the most challenging weeks for me as a coach and I guess it is the same for most of the players.
‘It is situations we haven’t been in before. When we are in these positions we hope we take more right decisions than wrong but you never get everything correct.
‘I feel for the players, a lot of young players in this squad that we need to take good care of. Honestly, there are a lot of players who have mixed emotions for this game and it is our job to protect all of them.
‘As you can expect, the preparation has been probably as bad as it can be so I just hope the players come and do a good performance. We are here to play football, they are footballers and I hope they can enjoy that at least.’
Republic of Ireland lost 1-0 to Kosovo in their opening UEFA Nations League fixture, while Israel were beaten 3-1 by Austria.
Politics Editor