Footballer Gavin Bazunu is being hailed as a hero following his decision to withdraw from Ireland’s squad to face Israel in a UEFA Nations League match, which has been a point of contention between the Irish public and football officials since its confirmation in February. Bazunu, who has been the Republic of Ireland’s first-choice goalkeeper in recent games, posted a statement on his social media accounts on Saturday, saying he felt “it would be wrong to participate in the upcoming fixtures against Israel”. Subsequently, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) announced that the 24-year-old would be replaced in the squad for Sunday’s fixture, which will be the first of two games that Ireland will play against Israel in a period of eight days.
Bazunu’s public stance to opt out of the game has been hailed by football fans, former Irish footballers, politicians, and pro-Palestine activists. Al Jazeera breaks down the background to his withdrawal, the reaction to it, and the FAI’s decisions leading up to the match: The six-foot-two-inch (1.88m) goalkeeper is a Dublin-born footballer of Irish and Nigerian descent, who rose through the ranks of Ireland’s youth football system to become the country’s first-choice shot-stopper. Nigerian on his father’s side, Bazunu was part of Ireland’s age-group teams from the under-15 level before making his senior team debut as a teenager in 2021.
Bazunu’s brilliance in goal was spotted by English Premier League giants Manchester City, who signed him for their academy, where he played for three years. According to reports in Irish media, Nigerian football officials were keen on signing Bazunu to their national squad, but the player pledged allegiance to the country of his birth. He has represented Ireland in 22 international fixtures over the past five years and wears the goalkeeper’s preferred number one shirt for the country.
Bazunu found himself at the centre of a row involving Ireland’s match against Israel, which is part of the Nations League competition held by European football’s governing body, UEFA. After the FAI confirmed that it would participate in the match despite months-long calls for a boycott due to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Bazunu became the only player to publicly opt out of the fixture. He withdrew from both legs of the fixture, scheduled on Sunday in Debrecen, Hungary, and on October 4 in Backa Topola, Serbia.
Bazunu has not participated in the squad’s training at the Nagyerdei Stadion since the team arrived in Hungary. He posted a statement on his social media account confirming his withdrawal, saying: “Representing my country means everything to me. I have the utmost respect for every single one of my teammates, the manager, his staff, and the Irish people.
However, I have reached a decision that I have 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.
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