{
  "id": 9989309,
  "title": "Republic of Ireland confirm Israel game will go ahead",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/republic-of-ireland-confirm-israel-game-will-go-ahead-9989309",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-26T13:38:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/republic-ireland-confirm-israel-game-133833777.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Republic of Ireland have confirmed that their Uefa Nations League B3 game against Israel in Debrecen, Hungary will proceed. Initial doubts emerged on Saturday morning about the fixture's occurrence. A scheduled pre-match news conference with the manager and a player, set to begin at 09:15 BST, was unexpectedly postponed 15 minutes before its start time. This event was followed by another training session at 10:00 BST, which also did not transpire, as the team remained in their hotel awaiting further updates. The players engaged in a meeting, during which sources reported that several, including goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, indicated their desire to withdraw from the match. This led to speculation about the game's future. By 13:00 BST, players began to exit the meeting room, and it was subsequently announced that the news conference would indeed take place as planned at Nagyerdei Stadion at 14:30, with training to follow. It was FAI CEO David Courell, accompanied by Hallgrimsson and FAI Director of Football, who ultimately announced that a majority of players had voted to play the game, with more details to follow.",
  "summary": "The Republic of Ireland have confirmed Sunday's Uefa Nations League B3 game in Debrecen, Hungary will go ahead.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport",
        "title": "Republic of Ireland news conference delayed before controversial Israel game",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/republic-of-ireland-news-conference-delayed-before-controversial",
        "published": "2026-09-26T10:44:37.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Republic of Ireland news conference delayed before controversial Israel game",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/republic-of-ireland-news-conference-delayed-before-controversial-9969683",
        "published": "2026-09-26T11:22:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Sky News",
        "title": "Uncertainty over Ireland vs Israel Nations League game after training and news conference delayed",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/uncertainty-over-ireland-vs-israel-nations-league-game-after-training",
        "published": "2026-09-26T12:02:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Middle East Eye",
        "title": "Ireland players vote to play Israel match after boycott debate",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/ireland-players-vote-to-play-israel-match-after-boycott-debate",
        "published": "2026-09-26T14:02:32.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}