{
  "id": 10168773,
  "title": "Ireland confirm Nations League clash with Israel will go ahead after squad vote to play game",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/ireland-confirm-nations-league-clash-with-israel-will-go-ahead-after",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-26T15:02:11.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National Business",
    "slug": "the-national-business",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/2026/09/26/ireland-confirm-nations-league-match-with-israel-will-go-ahead-after-squad-vote-to-play-game/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Republic of Ireland's UEFA Nations League match against Israel, originally scheduled to take place in Hungary, has been confirmed to proceed following a vote by the team. The match, which was in jeopardy after a contentious press conference involving manager Heimir Hallgrimsson, saw a majority of the squad support playing the game. Hallgrimsson apologized for the delay, explaining that a significant majority of the players voted to play the fixture. One player, Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, withdrew from the squad despite the majority vote. Israeli FA president Aharon Davidian expressed disappointment, stating that the Irish team had \"stood by the genocide\" by playing.",
  "summary": "Ireland have confirmed that their Uefa Nations League game against Israel being held in Hungary will go ahead as planned on Sunday. The match looked in serious danger of not taking place after a pre-match news conference with manager Heimir Hallgrimsson – who said his squad were “playing against genocide” when announcing his squad for the upcoming fixture – and a player was postponed 15 minutes…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}