Republic of Ireland beat Israel after skipping pregame handshakes - ESPN

The Republic of Ireland wore black armbands and skipped the typical prematch handshakes before securing a 3-0 victory over Israel in their contentious UEFA Nations League match Sunday.

The game had faced bitter opposition in Ireland over Israel's actions in Gaza.

The Irish players looked down at the grass with their hands behind their backs during the playing of the Israeli national anthem, and Irish captain Dara O'Shea approached the center of the field for the prematch talk with his hands still firmly clasped behind his back.

O'Shea shook hands with the referee and his assistants, but there was no attempt to shake the hand of Israel captain Manor Solomon.

«By playing we are making some people unhappy,» Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrímsson said in his postgame news conference. «By playing we are making others happy. I think winning probably pleases everyone, but there will be still angry people that we played the game.»

Reserve goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu decided Saturday to boycott both of Ireland's games against Israel because of what he said was his «personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong.»

There was a small group of Israeli fans in the otherwise almost-empty stadium in Debrecen, Hungary, but an even smaller group of around 10 people without colors was celebrating when Troy Parrott broke the deadlock in the 13th minute.

There weren't supposed to be any Irish fans present. Some Ireland supporters who got tickets through the Israeli soccer federation told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that those had been canceled Saturday night.

Adam Idah made it 2-0 three minutes after Parrott's opener, and Jack Moylan got the third goal in the 25th.

Moylan celebrated his goal by kissing and raising his black armband before