FAI president Paul Cooke believes Israel build-up ‘went as well as could be expected’

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) president Paul Cooke has defended the handling of the build-up to the Nations League clash with Israel in Hungary, saying the week “went as well as could be expected in the face of unprecedented coverage”.

Heimir Hallgrímsson admitted after Ireland’s 3-0 win in Debrecen that he believed at one point yesterday that the game would not go ahead, and was visibly emotional as he described the build-up as the most difficult experience of his career.

Gavin Bazunu’s withdrawal from the Israel matches on Saturday morning led the Irish players to reconsider their own positions on fulfilling the fixtures, with players eventually voting among themselves on whether to proceed with the match. The FAI said the players voted with a “significant majority” to fulfil the game, but have declined to specify the result of the vote.

“I think we’ve handled the week quite well,” said Cooke. “I think, first of all, before we even get into that, I think if you look at the courage, the performance, the way they conducted themselves, everybody that was here tonight, those 20-odd players, they’ve as a nation, a country, as a football organisation, we should be so proud of them in the face of the difficulties that they encountered.

“I think the week went as well as could be expected in the face of, I would say, unprecedented coverage and the way some people conducted themselves. And I’m not referring to anybody in the camp.”

Asked to whom he referred, Cooke rounded on the media.

“I am referring to the way some of you have behaved in some respects,” he said. “The pressure, the way some stories have been chased. I’ve worked in media for 35 years. I thought journalists were meant to be balanced and reflect two sides of an opinion. I haven’t seen that. That’s just my personal gripe.”

Cooke also took issue with what he saw as insufficient coverage given to the reasons why the FAI was fulfilling the games, saying it proceeded with the matches to safeguard the future financial interests of Irish football. He also pointed to the result of an EGM vote earlier this year, at which delegates passed a motion committing the FAI to fulfilling all Nations League games by a 68 per cent majority, saying the decision had been democratically endorsed by the FAI’s members.

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Cooke said at no point did he personally feel the Israel games should not be played, pointing to the unknowns around what Uefa’s potential sanctions would be in the event of a boycott.

“They are, but I don’t know what they are,” said Cooke of the unknown sanctions. “But equally, the other sanctions are serious. Let’s not forget that. Two 3-0 defeats. They are serious as well. And the consequences of going down to League C. But equally, as I said, I haven’t heard anybody say that this decision was taken by the football community, which is what it was.

“There’ll be a thought process from a lot of people in the country that the decision isn’t just about what should be good for football.”

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In illustrating the potential impacts of unknown sanctions, Cooke pointed to Southampton’s punishment in the Spygate controversy of last season, which saw them kicked out of the Championship play-offs.

Cooke also said he did not give an opinion to the players during yesterday’s long meeting as to whether the game should be played, and that the decision to proceed with the game was left up to the players’ vote.

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