Ireland v Israel build-up live: Irish players in meeting to decide whether to proceed with game

From Gavin Cummiskey:“Two other Irish players took similar stand to Bazunu against playing, but - as it stands - the rest of squad intend to go ahead with game, according to a source.”From Gavin Cooney:“One source close to a player says the Government should step in and make the decision.”From Gavin Cummiskey:FAI CEO David Courell did not attend Kosovo match in Pristina as he was meeting Government ahead of the Budget. Uefa and Israel FA officials at stadium this morning had no prior knowledge that FAI would pull out of training. FAI “postponed” training at 9.56am Hungary time. The press conference was scheduled for 10.15am. Training 11am.It is now 1.31pm in Hungary.Hungarian police and FAI security present off camera. Players are meeting with FAI officials behind a partition on ground floor. Photograph: Gavin Cummiskey Hello and welcome to live coverage of the build-up to Ireland’s Nations League game against Israel, with the Irish team missing their press conference this morning while they deliberate whether to proceed with the match or not. The game has attracted considerable controversy at home, with the Stop the Game movement advocating for Ireland to boycott the game. The decision was made by the FAI to proceed with the fixture, which is in Debrecen in Hungary for Israel’s ‘home’ game, with Ireland’s home game in Serbia due to security concerns.Check here for the latest news from Gavin Cooney and Gavin Cummiskey, who are on the ground in Hungary.The newsline from Gavin Cooney:The eve of Ireland’s Nations League match against Israel has been thrown into chaos, with the team missing their scheduled training session as they remained locked in lengthy meetings as to whether they should individually proceed with the game.Gavin Bazunu told the squad last night that he did not wish to participate in the Israel game, with other players understood to be considering whether to join him in withdraing from the game.The players’ lengthy deliberations led them to miss their press conference and training session at the Nagyerdei stadium in Debrecen. The press conference, scheduled for 10.15am local time, was postponed at just 19 minutes notice. The Irish and Israeli media were assembled at the stadium in Debrecen when the Irish media were informed via WhatsApp message that the press conference would be delayed by up to two hours, and held after the team training session.The Uefa match delegate was informed of the delay at the same time, and was not given a reason. They ultimately did not turn up for training. The media decamped to outside the team hotel, within which the players were meeting with Heimir Hallgrimsson and the coaching staff. The players had earlier met with FAI CEO David Courell.