Ireland players refuse handshakes with Israelis before Nations League match

The Republic of Ireland and Israel players did not exchange handshakes before their UEFA Nations League match in Debrecen, Hungary. The Irish players stood for their national anthem and appeared to bow their heads before Israel's anthem.

The traditional pre-match handshake between the two teams did not take place, and there was also no exchange of pennants between Republic of Ireland captain Dara O'Shea and Israel skipper Manor Solomon.

The Irish players wore black armbands for the thousands of Palestinians killed in Israel's genocide, according to Middle East Eye. The fixture has been surrounded by controversy since the two sides were drawn together in Group B3 in February, amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza war. Irish players had faced calls to withdraw from the matches, with the "Stop The Game" campaign urging them not to participate.

However, Ireland's players voted to play the fixture after a lengthy meeting at their team hotel in Debrecen on Saturday. Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu subsequently withdrew from the squad, saying he believed it would be wrong for him to participate.

Brief written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye, Punch, Punch Nigeria, Yahoo Sports, BBC Sport Football — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.