Ireland players wear black armbands and refrain from handshakes in Israel soccer game

DEBRECEN, Hungary — There were no handshakes between Ireland and Israel players before their contentious Nations League match on Sunday, with the Irish team wearing black armbands for its 3-0 victory.

The game faced bitter opposition in Ireland over Israel’s actions in Gaza with the players coming under huge pressure to boycott two matches against Israel.

Reserve goalkeeper Gavin Bazuno decided Saturday to leave the squad for both games because of what he said was his “personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong.”

The Irish players looked down at the grass with their heads bowed and hands behind their backs during the playing of the Israeli national anthem, and Irish captain Dara O’Shea approached the center of the field for the pre-match talk with his hands still firmly clasped behind his back.

O’Shea shook hands with the referee and his assistants but there was no attempt to shake the hand of Israel captain Manor Solomon.

There was a small group of Israeli fans in the otherwise almost-empty stadium in Debrecen, Hungary, but an even smaller group of around 10 people without colors were celebrating when Troy Parrott broke the deadlock in the 13th minute.

There weren’t supposed…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business