Ireland star Moylan in pointed celebration after scoring vs Israel in Nations League

Republic of Ireland forward Jack Moylan made a pointed gesture by removing his black armband and kissing it in celebration after netting against Israel on Sunday evening.

The winger made it 3-0 with with Ireland's third goal, following earlier strikes from Troy Parrott and Adam Idah, with all three goals coming within a breathless 12-minute spell before the half-hour mark.

Having slotted home his effort, Moylan sprinted towards the corner flag, where he removed the black armband - worn by him and his teammates in tribute to all those who have lost their lives in the Israel/Palestine conflict - before planting a kiss on the Ireland badge.

Despite the celebrations remaining largely subdued, Ireland presented a united front on Sunday evening, coming together in the aftermath of a turbulent few days that had left the squad split over whether to go ahead with the fixture.

Pre-match, Ireland players snubbed shaking hands with their Israeli opponents during the Nations League clash at the Nagyerdei Stadion. Hallgrimsson's men also bowed their heads during Israel's national anthem.

Gavin Bazunu removed himself from the squad, citing atrocities in the region of Palestine, where more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel.

Speaking ahead of the game, Ireland manager Hallgrimsson acknowledged that it had been a testing few days for the entire squad.

"It's been tough on everyone. But I mostly feel for the players that just want to play football and are somewhere in between...In between decisions and and other things, so I just feel for the players that came here to play football and represent their country."

Speaking about Ireland's decision to go ahead with playing the match, Football Association of Ireland chief, David 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.

"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."