Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu has left the squad while his teammates voted to go ahead with their controversial Nations League fixture against Israel.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) revealed on Saturday afternoon that a player had expressed their "discomfort" at playing in the match, telling the head coach that they intended to withdraw from the squad.

The player's decision to leave the camp led the other players to carry out a vote on whether to boycott the game, in which a "significant majority" opted to play, FAI CEO David Courell told a news conference.

He said only one squad member was leaving the team and Bazunu later confirmed it was him in an Instagram post.

The 24-year-old said it was a decision he had "not taken lightly".

"I am a man of strong faith and try my best to be a person of character and principle therefore I feel it would be wrong to participate in the upcoming fixtures against Israel," he said.

"My decision is based purely upon my personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong.

"It is important to note that my stance is not in opposition of the Israeli people or the Jewish community but against the atrocities in the region.

"There are few times where you get a chance in life to stand up for something bigger and I strongly believe that this is one of them."

Ireland has been one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's war in Gaza. There have been numerous protests in the country calling for the team not to fulfil the fixtures with Israel after the teams were drawn together in February.

Doubt was cast on the fixture going ahead after the Republic of Ireland's news conference and a training session were delayed on Saturday morning. It was only later revealed that the players had been debating whether or not to participate.

In a press conference on Saturday afternoon, FAI CEO David Courell said that the Ireland players had decided not to shake hands with the Israeli team before the game, and that there would be no exchange of the customary pennant.

He also said the Irish players would wear black armbands in ‌honour of all the victims of the conflict while donating their match fees to charity.

Ireland's coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said: "All the rest of the players are training today.

"It's an ongoing discussion and we haven't come to a kind of conclusion on this, but we are going ahead, the game is going ahead, we're going to train. And there will be more discussions tonight and probably tomorrow."

The Icelandic manager previously drew criticism from the Israeli football federation for his comments on fixture, in which he said: "We're not playing with genocide, we're playing against genocide. We're playing against Israel, we're not playing with Israel".

If the Republic team had refused to play the game, due to kick-off at 7.45pm on Sunday, they could have been subject to warnings or fines from UEFA.

In November, FAI members voted for its board to request that UEFA suspend Israel from European competitions.

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But a motion in favour of going ahead with the fixtures was passed at an FAI meeting in July.

All of Israel's home games are scheduled to take place in Debrecen. Ireland also moved their home fixture - on 4 October - to Serbia, where the game will be played behind closed doors.

Last week, Hallgrimsson used the word "genocide" in a news conference. The Israeli FA responded by calling his remarks stupid and ignorant.

Israel has strongly rejected any allegations of genocide during the conflict.

(c) Sky News 2026: Ireland goalkeeper boycotting Nations League game against Israel - but match will go ahead