Republic of Ireland News Conference Delayed Amid Calls to Boycott Israel Game

The Republic of Ireland's pre-match news conference, scheduled for Sunday ahead of their Uefa Nations League game against Israel in Hungary, was delayed shortly before it was due to begin. The fixture has drawn calls for a boycott due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Heimir Hallgrimsson's team was scheduled to meet with media in Debrecen at 19:45 BST, with a return match set for October 4 in Serbia. The postponement of the news conference, initially set for 09:15 BST, added to growing uncertainty surrounding the game.

A UEFA official informed waiting media that the press conference would be postponed until after training. However, this plan was also altered when the team's training session was postponed without a new time being set for either the training or the press conference.

The controversy surrounding the fixture began when the two teams were drawn to play each other in Group B3. The "Stop The Game" campaign, organized by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine, has gained momentum, with former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr and ex-international James McClean publicly backing calls for a boycott.

Players held a team meeting on Friday to discuss their views on the upcoming matches. The players had been expected to release a statement at Saturday's news conference, but the subsequent delays have fueled speculation, with some reports suggesting at least one player may wish to withdraw from the squad.

It later emerged that the news conference would be moved from the stadium to the team hotel, though UEFA has not provided information regarding the reasons for the delays. The conflict escalated following Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the taking of 251 hostages. Israel's subsequent military response in Gaza has led to over 73,000 deaths, according to figures from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, which are considered reliable by the United Nations.