An editorial note re: The 42’s reporting on the Uefa Nations League matches between Ireland and Israel is available to read here.
GAVIN BAZUNU WAS not asked about his feelings on playing Israel before he was called into the Republic of Ireland squad.
The Dubliner went to manager Heimir Hallgrímsson this morning to declare that he did not want to be involved.
What followed was an unprecedented and chaotic day in Debrecen as players were locked in meetings for over four hours.
A poll was then conducted among the squad about fulfilling the fixture.
FAI chief executive David Courell stated a ‘significant majority’ wanted to play the game but would not state the exact number.
The 42 understands that as many as five other players began to waver on the issue after Bazunu’s decision.
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However, the process of how the FAI decided they would find consensus on playing Israel among international has been thrown into disarray when it emerged Bazunu was not one of 30 players contacted.
From left: Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrímsson, CEO David Courell and director of football John Martin. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
At the squad announcement for this international window, Hallgrímsson said “I’ve spoken to all of them individually on that because you shouldn’t be doing this on a group [call].”
However, at a press conference in Debrecen, flanked by Courell and FAI director of football John Martin, the Ireland boss admitted he had not spoken to any of the goalkeepers.
“I called all outfield players. It’s not my connection to talk to the goalkeepers. I leave that to others but all players knew what we were going into,” Hallgrímsson said.
“All players when they accept to come knew what games we were going to play so it’s not like it was a surprise we were playing these matches. If you don’t feel comfortable playing, of course you reject coming into the camp.”
CEO Courell was asked if how the FAI handled the process was a dereliction of duty.
“I can assure you, and I think the players will recognise that we had extensive engagement with the throughout the summer. We understand it’s an FAI board decision, and it’s a decision we have consistently owned but we equally understand that that has implications for the players and is deeply unfair. It’s our intention, as has always been, is to respect their position in this.
“Through our extensive consultations, we gave adequate time across 20 to 30 players where we discussed all of the logic that the FAI board took into account when considering their position. Ultimately, the decision was taken to proceed with these fixtures.
Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson (background), David Courell (centre) and John Martin (right). Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
When pressed further if Bazunu had been contacted by the FAI ahead of time how he felt, Courell said: “I don’t know… There was a logic applied to the players who were engaged. I would say it was around 30, on the balance, when we look at it in the round. That was based on the number of caps they had fulfilled for Ireland over the last three seasons. That resulted in a significant number of players that were engaged in the process.
“That could be north of a 100 in a playing pool if you really looked at it. By engaging with those players who had represented their country most frequently and most regularly it was accepted by the players that was a good basis to engage. We didn’t know what the long list or short list would be for this camp.
“You have to understand that we had to formulate an approach, and that is what we did. We had to case the net pretty wide and we got very overwhelming support from those players that we engaged with of their commitment to fulfil these games.
When asked again had anyone from the FAI contacted Bazunu, Courell said: “I can’t say for a fact. I don’t believe he was.”
On the matter of how the players voted among themselves to play the game, and if Bazunu was the only one who voted against playing, Courell said: “I said it was a significant majority in favour of proceeding with the fixtures.”
Courell said that more than 50% is “the definition of significant” adding that “I know where you are going but the reality is we respect the privacy and the sanctum of those conversations so I will not be revealing the numbers to you. Please know it was a significant majority. Significant majority can be open to interpretation.”
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Gavin Bazunu was not one of 30 Ireland players contacted by FAI about thoughts on playing Israel
An editorial note re: The 42’s reporting on the Uefa Nations League matches between Ireland and Israel is available to read here.
GAVIN BAZUNU WAS not asked about his feelings on playing Israel before he was called into the Republic of Ireland squad.
The Dubliner went to manager Heimir Hallgrímsson this morning to declare that he did not want to be involved.
What followed was an unprecedented and chaotic day in Debrecen as players were locked in meetings for over four hours.
A poll was then conducted among the squad about fulfilling the fixture.
FAI chief executive David Courell stated a ‘significant majority’ wanted to play the game but would not state the exact number.
The 42 understands that as many as five other players began to waver on the issue after Bazunu’s decision.
However, the process of how the FAI decided they would find consensus on playing Israel among international has been thrown into disarray when it emerged Bazunu was not one of 30 players contacted.
At the squad announcement for this international window, Hallgrímsson said “I’ve spoken to all of them individually on that because you shouldn’t be doing this on a group [call].”
However, at a press conference in Debrecen, flanked by Courell and FAI director of football John Martin, the Ireland boss admitted he had not spoken to any of the goalkeepers.
“I called all outfield players. It’s not my connection to talk to the goalkeepers. I leave that to others but all players knew what we were going into,” Hallgrímsson said.
“All players when they accept to come knew what games we were going to play so it’s not like it was a surprise we were playing these matches. If you don’t feel comfortable playing, of course you reject coming into the camp.”
CEO Courell was asked if how the FAI handled the process was a dereliction of duty.
“I can assure you, and I think the players will recognise that we had extensive engagement with the throughout the summer. We understand it’s an FAI board decision, and it’s a decision we have consistently owned but we equally understand that that has implications for the players and is deeply unfair. It’s our intention, as has always been, is to respect their position in this.
“Through our extensive consultations, we gave adequate time across 20 to 30 players where we discussed all of the logic that the FAI board took into account when considering their position. Ultimately, the decision was taken to proceed with these fixtures.
When pressed further if Bazunu had been contacted by the FAI ahead of time how he felt, Courell said: “I don’t know… There was a logic applied to the players who were engaged. I would say it was around 30, on the balance, when we look at it in the round. That was based on the number of caps they had fulfilled for Ireland over the last three seasons. That resulted in a significant number of players that were engaged in the process.
“That could be north of a 100 in a playing pool if you really looked at it. By engaging with those players who had represented their country most frequently and most regularly it was accepted by the players that was a good basis to engage. We didn’t know what the long list or short list would be for this camp.
“You have to understand that we had to formulate an approach, and that is what we did. We had to case the net pretty wide and we got very overwhelming support from those players that we engaged with of their commitment to fulfil these games.
When asked again had anyone from the FAI contacted Bazunu, Courell said: “I can’t say for a fact. I don’t believe he was.”
On the matter of how the players voted among themselves to play the game, and if Bazunu was the only one who voted against playing, Courell said: “I said it was a significant majority in favour of proceeding with the fixtures.”
Courell said that more than 50% is “the definition of significant” adding that “I know where you are going but the reality is we respect the privacy and the sanctum of those conversations so I will not be revealing the numbers to you. Please know it was a significant majority. Significant majority can be open to interpretation.”
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