The Republic of Ireland players bowed their heads during Israel's national anthem

The Republic of Ireland and Israel players did not shake hands with each other before or after Sunday's controversial Uefa Nations League game in Hungary.

After walking on to the pitch at Nagyerdei Stadion, the Republic of Ireland squad stood for their national anthem and bowed their heads before Israel's anthem.

Following the anthems, the two teams did not line up for the traditional handshakes.

There was also no exchange of pennants between Republic of Ireland captain Dara O'Shea and Israel skipper Manor Solomon, who did not shake hands.

The fixtures have been embroiled in controversy since February when the two teams were drawn to play each other in Group B3.

The Republic of Ireland players have faced calls to withdraw from the games because of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war with a "Stop The Game" campaign - organised by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine - gathering pace.

However, the players voted to fulfil the fixture during a lengthy meeting at the team's hotel in Debrecen on Saturday.

Later on Saturday, goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu confirmed he had withdrawn from the squad, saying he felt it "would be wrong to participate" in Sunday's game and the return fixture in the Serbian town of Backa Topola on 4 October.

The Irish players wore black armbands, which Football Association of Ireland (FAI) chief executive David Courell said on Saturday was a gesture "in recognition of all lives lost in the [Gaza] conflict".

After scoring the Republic of Ireland's third goal in a 3-0 win, Jack Moylan removed his armband and kissed it before kissing his team's badge.

The Republic of Ireland players were jeered by the small number of Israel fans in attendance when they emerged for their pre-game warm-up.

While the FAI confirmed no tickets would be sold to Republic of Ireland supporters, a handful of fans were spotted inside the stadium.

Neutral venues and no 'away' fans - how Israel v Republic of Ireland became so contentious

Speaking to RTE prior to kick-off, Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson spoke about the impact the intense scrutiny on the games have had on him and his squad.

"It's been one of the most challenging weeks for me as a coach and I guess it is the same for most of the players. It is situations we haven't been in before," said Hallgrimsson.

"When we are in these positions we hope we take more right decisions than wrong but you never get everything correct.

"I feel for the players, a lot of young players in this squad that we need to take good care of. Honestly, there are a lot of players who have mixed emotions for this game and it is our job to protect all of them."

Hallgrimsson added: "As you can expect, the preparation has been probably as bad as it can be so I just hope the players come and do a good performance. We are here to play football, they are footballers and I hope they can enjoy that at least."

Jack Moylan kissed his black armband after scoring against Israel

During a dramatic day on Saturday, doubts emerged over whether the game would take place after the Republic of Ireland's pre-match news conference was postponed because of the squad meeting.

When the news conference commended at 14:30 BST on Saturday - more than five hours later than planned - Courell said a players' vote on whether to play the game passed by a "significant majority".

Courell added that the Republic of Ireland would not engage in pre-match formalities such as handshakes.

In 2024, the Ireland women's basketball team chose not to shake hands with Israel players or stand on court for the anthems before a EuroBasket qualifier in Riga, but the teams did exchange handshakes when they met again last year.

The Republic of Ireland have faced calls to boycott the matches since the Nations League draw in February.

Last November, the FAI approved a motion calling for Uefa to suspend Israel from Uefa competitions.

In May, the team's friendly against Qatar was interrupted after fans threw tennis balls featuring the Palestinian flag onto the pitch.

In June, the FAI confirmed their home fixture would be played behind closed doors in Backa Topola instead of Dublin's Aviva Stadium, citing "operational challenges that could impact on the delivery of the game on home soil".

At an extraordinary general meeting in July, delegates backed an FAI motion to proceed with the games amid concerns that boycotting the fixtures would cause "significant and lasting harm" for the association.

Calls for the Republic of Ireland to boycott the games have intensified in recent weeks. Earlier this week, more than 160 Irish athletes signed an open letter by Irish Sport for Palestine group urging the team not to play.

Courell also said last week Uefa had rejected a request for the Republic of Ireland and Israel to be kept apart in future competition draws.

Tensions between the teams were raised this week when the Israel Football Association accused Hallgrimsson of "ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity" after the coach said, "we're not playing with genocide, we're playing against genocide".

Speaking on Saturday, Hallgrimsson said it was "a wrong word for me to use", while Israel FA head of communications Shlomi Barzel said he would not apologise for his association's response but said he would "take back the word stupidity".

The armed Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

In response, Israel launched a massive military offensive in Gaza, during which more than 73,000 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Israel has repeatedly denied that it has committed genocide, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity. It says its military operations in Gaza have been conducted in self-defence and in accordance with international law.