Ireland players snub Israel handshakes and take action during national anthem before match

Republic of Ireland players snubbed shaking hands with their Israeli opponents during Sunday evening's Nations League clash at the Nagyerdei Stadion. Heimir Hallgrimsson's men also bowed their heads during Israel's national anthem.

It was a tense state of affairs as both sets of players made their way onto the pitch for the encounter, with no exchange of pennants. Captains, Dara O'Shea and Manor Solomon, also did not shake hands before or after the referee's coin toss to delegate kick-off and pitch sides.

Ireland also made the decision to wear black armbands for the encounter, in recognition of the lives lost in the Gaza conflict. It comes as there were questions asked with regard to whether the match should have taken place at all, considering Israel's ongoing war with Palestine.

Football Association of Ireland chief, David Courell told the press earlier this week that players held an intra-squad vote regarding their participation in the match against Israel, with a majority opting to go ahead. However, Gavin Bazunu withdrew himself from Hallgrimsson's squad on account of personal beliefs.

Taking to Instagram, the Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper wrote: "My decision is based purely upon my personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong," adding: "It is important to note that my stance is not in opposition of the Israeli people or the Jewish community but against the atrocities in the region."

As a result of UEFA regulations for the competition, which stipulate that each squad must register at least three goalkeepers, Ireland made the decision to call up defender Jimmy Dunne to theoretically play backup to Caoimhin Kelleher and Max O'Leary - although the likelihood of him actually taking up a role in net is slim to none.

Speaking about Ireland's decision to play Israel, Courell said: "The squad were in Pristina yesterday. An extensive conversation took place where ultimately the consensus from the group was to travel to Hungary.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football's Facebook page

"That was something that we all entered into this window with our intention to fulfil these fixtures and that was the consensus that the group finished on at the end of that two-hour meeting yesterday. This morning a player (now confirmed to be Bazunu) expressed their discomfort with fulfilling this fixture to the head coach and indicated their intent to withdraw from the squad.

"As you can understand, this new variable required time and deliberation for the rest of the squad to consider. What proceeded was another four hours of conversations, predominantly amongst the players themselves but also at times with the coaching staff and at times with the executive.

"There was a lot of positions presented and I think it's important to say that from an association perspective and for everyone involved in those conversations, we were fully respectful of everyone's right to their respective opinion on these topics.

"Ultimately within the last maybe 90 minutes we carried out a vote amongst the squad to establish their sentiment on fulfilling the fixtures and it was a significant majority that was returned with the intention to continue."