Ireland goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu has reportedly told the Ireland squad he does not want to participate in the upcoming match against Israel.

Ireland are scheduled to face Israel on Sunday in Debrecen, Hungary, in the UEFA Nations League. After months of protests, talks and even an EGM, the FAI decided to go ahead and play the two upcoming matches.

However, on the eve of the first game, it looks like the squad have taken it into their own hands as to whether to boycott the match or not.

After their opening night defeat to Kosovo in Pristina, the Irish squad met on Friday night to discuss the Israel game. Much of the talk this week has, of course, been dominated by the match, which likely played a part at least subconsciously in the Kosovo defeat.

It was in this meeting on Friday night that Gavin Bazunu reportedly told his teammates he did not want to participate in Sunday’s match. Reportedly, as many as five players in the squad are considering the same action.

This led to much disruption on Saturday morning, as the FAI blindsided UEFA by rescheduling their pre-training press conference until after training. However, training never took place on Saturday morning as the players remained at their hotel, where they are supposedly in a meeting with manager Heimir Hallgrimsson.

Captain Dara O’Shea described the build-up as ‘really unusual’ and said that the ‘decision should never be made by the players as such, and at the end of the day, we’re Irish footballers and like I said, when you get called upon, we come and represent our country. And whatever decision is made by the people higher up, that’s the decision made.

‘It’s a really unusual thing for us as players to deal with this, to have the noise following it and surrounding us, it’s not something you’re ever prepared for. But us, as players, we totally understand the situation and understand the noise and the feelings as well.’

Midfielder Jason Knight also said publicly after the Kosovo match that he didn’t believe the game should be played. ‘I don’t think the game obviously should be going ahead, but it is going ahead.’