Rumours are swirling that a number of players have shared their decision to not play in the controversial UEFA Nations League match between Ireland and Israel.

A press conference that was due to take place at 9:15am Irish time was cancelled at the last minute, seemingly throwing the plans for the Ireland-Israel game into disarray.

There are rumours swirling that there will be a statement released by the Irish squad around 12:30pm, but talk is rife that a number of players have shared they do not wish to play in the game.

Speaking on the confusion surrounding the press conference cancellation, Chief Sports Writer for The Irish Sun, Neil O'Riordan told The Pat Kenny Show that there are actually ongoing talks as to what's going to happen, even though the match is scheduled for Sunday.

He explained: "It's been signalled that Gavin Bazunu has said he does not want to play and there's suggestions that up to four other players have intimated the same.

"On a pure numbers level, they would still have enough players if the remainder are willing to play to fulfil the fixture. But obviously, this is a huge, huge issue.

"We were told when the squad was announced on Thursday before last that every player had basically committed whatever reservations they might have to fulfilling the fixtures.

"That was reiterated by Heimir Hallgrimsson after the game in Kosovo on Thursday, and now that's just going to be falling asunder because individual players at a meeting have signalled their opposition."

Mr O'Riordan added that he thinks it was a mistake to not discuss the matter of the Israel game until after the Kosovo game, but that has only left a few days for talks.

He continued: "I don't think it was realistic to try and iron out those issues last night or today with the Israel game tomorrow. It needed to be done in advance.

"Part of the problem is just the nature of international football. They only meet up every few months. The squad can change.

"It's not like a club environment where you have the same 25 players or so. Ireland had three games in May and June and three quite different squads across those games, so up to 50 players involved.

"It is hard to organise a group meeting where all the relevant people can attend. But certainly, this just seems a monumental mishandling of it."

Whether or not the reported decisions of some players to not feature in the game will have a domino effect and others will join them remains to be seen, but there could be a knock-on effect on the relations within the squad if some play and some don't.

With talk of a press conference and statement coming at 12:30pm, many are wondering if the Irish squad are pulling out of the game entirely, but what repercussions would that have?

Mr O'Riordan shared that the articles in UEFA's association lay out the potential consequences, with the "bottom line" being Israel being awarded a 3-0 win. 

Beyond that, there might be some financial ramifications too, as some Baltic states refuesed to play Belarus because of Russia and their role in the war with Ukraine, and they were fined.

Main image: The Republic of Ireland National Team logo, Picture by: Alamy Stock Photo