The Republic of Ireland have postponed their pre-match news conference ahead of Sunday's Uefa Nations League match against Israel in Hungary - a fixture that campaigners have politely (and not so politely) suggested they might want to sit out.

Heimir Hallgrimsson's team are scheduled to face Israel in Debrecen at 19:45 BST, with the return leg in Backa Topola, Serbia on 4 October. The games have been mired in controversy since the draw put the two teams together in Group B3, which is one way to spice up a Nations League group.

Calls to withdraw have been mounting, led by the "Stop The Game" campaign from the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine, which has gathered pace amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza war. Former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr and ex-international James McClean are among those backing a boycott. There are also Irish supporters - perhaps less vocal, but still present - who believe the match should go ahead with fans in attendance, because football is nothing if not a place for awkward moral negotiations.

Following Thursday's 1-0 defeat by Kosovo, midfielder Jason Knight offered his view that he didn't think "the game should be going ahead," while winger Chiedozie Ogbene urged the public not to "put the pressure on us" regarding their approach. So: no pressure, lads, just the weight of an international ethical dilemma.

Hallgrimsson and a player were scheduled to meet the media at 09:15 BST (10.15 local time), before training. But the conference was delayed shortly beforehand. A Uefa official entered the room to inform waiting media teams that the press conference was postponed until after training - about 11:30 BST (12.30 local time). Then, shortly afterwards, the same official returned to announce that the Republic of Ireland's training session had also been postponed, with no new time given. There is also no confirmed time for the news conference, because why have one uncertain thing when you can have two?

A team meeting took place on Friday for players to air their views on Sunday's game and the return fixture in Serbia. The players were expected to release a statement at Saturday's news conference, but the delay has added further uncertainty, with some reports of at least one player wishing to withdraw from the squad. It has since emerged the news conference, originally scheduled at the stadium, is now set to be staged at the team hotel, with Uefa unable to provide information regarding the delay. Uefa: reliably unhelpful since forever.

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.