Ireland saw their Nations League game against Austria brought to a halt as fans protested their matches against Israel.

There was doubt over the weekend whether Ireland would fulfil their fixtures against Israel this international break, but the first game was played at the weekend and the second is scheduled to take place too.

Ireland beat Israel 3-0 in their first fixture in Hungary on Sunday night, with goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu having pulled out of the highly-charged match on ethical grounds. A petition to stop the game going ahead had been signed by almost 20,000.

Hundreds of pubs in Ireland refused to show the first encounter and have vowed to do so again for Sunday’s game, while there were protests outside the team hotel in Dublin.

The players did not shake hands, and Israel’s captain and FA spoke out against the team after the match.

On Thursday, meanwhile, fans launched tennis balls onto the field at the 20-minute mark at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin to protest the games taking place. Some balls were wrapped in stickers featuring the Palestinian flag and the text #StopTheGame.

Ireland’s game against Austria was paused after fans threw tennis balls onto the pitch at the Aviva Stadium

A fan with a Palestine flag also ran onto the field with several members of security ejecting him

One fan, roughly 15 minutes later, also ran onto the field waving a Palestine flag, with a number of security personnel required to remove them. 

A majority of players, meanwhile, described as ‘significant’ by the Football Association of Ireland, ultimately elected to fulfil their ‘away’ clash on Sunday.

A ‘Stop The Game’ campaign – organised by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine called for fans to gather ahead of the match with Austria to voice opposition to Sunday’s match with Israel.

Ireland captain Dara O’Shea did not shake hands with Israel’s skipper Manor Solomon at the coin toss last week, and Ireland wore black armbands ‘in recognition of all lives lost in the (Gaza) conflict’.

The Ireland players also snubbed the Israeli National Anthem by pointedly looking at the ground while it played. 

The second match against Israel will take place behind closed doors in Serbia.

Bazunu was the only member of the squad to officially make himself unavailable for selection for the Israel matches, but the Bolton goalkeeper chose to remain with the team and be with them for the Austria match.

He will then be replaced in the squad by Josh Keeley for the second fixture with Israel.

Some balls appeared to have Palestine stickers on – Ireland will take on Israel for a second time in eight days on Sunday

Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson had previously said his team are ‘playing against genocide’ amid Israel’s attacks on Palestine, where more than 70,000 people have been killed since the war in Gaza began, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. 

He also criticised ‘lies’ that had been reported concerning Bazunu’s withdrawal from the first fixture and insisted there is a ‘strong bond’ in his squad.

‘Gavin is a great lad. I’ve always had a good relationship with him and it’s probably more tough for him than the other players, but they have really welcomed him,’ said Hallgrimsson. ‘There’s been a lot of lies said around all of this, but we welcome him back and he’s taken part, amazing.

‘I think it shows his character, as well, to be with us, so I want to give him praise for that. I want to give the players praise for how welcome they have been with him.

After Sunday’s game, Israel captain and west Ham winger Manor Solomon hit out at his Irish opponents, saying: ‘They said nonsense during the game, I don’t want to talk about them.

‘If I say what I think about them, I’ll probably be banned for a few games so I don’t want to say. Of course they hate us and we don’t like them.

‘I’m already looking forward to the next game against them, it’s going to be completely different. What they did with the anthem? I’m not interested in them, we have a country that is ten times better than theirs, stronger, an amazing country with amazing people. (They) can play all their tricks. We are Israelis and love the country. And that will always be the case.’

The episode is the latest sign of growing hostility towards Israel and comes weeks after 12 countries including the UK, France and Canada announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. 

Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrew from the squad to face Israel at the weekend due to their actions in Gaza

The match came against a backdrop of ongoing and increasingly volatile disagreement between the two countries about Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

In May 2024, Ireland officially recognised a Palestinian state – alongside Spain and Norway – and later that year joined South Africa’s Gaza genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice. 

The country has also refused to take part in Eurovision since 2026 due to Israel’s ongoing participation in the song contest and was the first EU nation to boycott goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In June, the country issued travel bans on Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage.