The Republic of Ireland will play their UEFA Nations League fixture against Israel on Sunday after a vote within the squad, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed.
FAI chief executive David Courell said one player had expressed their intention to withdraw from the squad before the vote was held.
"This morning, a player expressed their discomfort with fulfilling this fixture to the head coach and indicated their intent to withdraw from the squad," Courell told reporters.
"Ultimately, within the last maybe 90 minutes, we carried out a vote amongst the squad to establish their sentiment on fulfilling the fixtures, and it was a significant majority that was returned with the intention to continue."
"So based on that, the association took the decision on behalf of Irish football that this fixture would continue, as we have always intended to fulfil the fixtures."
The match is scheduled to take place in Debrecen, Hungary, at 19:45 BST. A return fixture is set for 4 October in Backa Topola, Serbia, and will be played behind closed doors.
The game had been surrounded by controversy since Ireland and Israel were drawn together in Group B3. A campaign called "Stop The Game," organised by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine, had called on the Irish team to boycott both fixtures in protest at the ongoing war in Gaza.
Former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr and ex-international James McClean were among those who publicly backed the boycott calls.
Following Ireland's opening Group B3 defeat to Kosovo, 1-0, midfielder Jason Knight said he did not think "the game should be going ahead," while winger Chiedozie Ogbene urged the public not to "put the pressure on us" regarding the scheduled fixture.
Ireland captain Dara O'Shea had told reporters ahead of the Kosovo match that players would meet on Friday to discuss a plan of action for the Israel game.
Saturday's pre-match news conference, scheduled to begin at 10:15 local time at the stadium in Debrecen, was postponed shortly before it was due to start. The team's training session was also delayed, with players remaining inside their hotel for more than three hours as internal discussions continued.
Reports emerged during the delay that goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu had withdrawn from the fixture, with several other players said to be considering their positions. The news conference was ultimately moved from the stadium to the team hotel.
Tensions surrounding the fixture had already been heightened after Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson used the word "genocide" during a media conference the previous weekend. The Israeli Football Association responded by describing his remarks as stupid, ignorant and hypocritical.
The FAI's own membership had voted in November to request that UEFA suspend Israel from European competitions. However, a motion in favour of proceeding with the fixtures was passed at an FAI extraordinary general meeting in July.
All of Israel's home matches in the competition are being played in Debrecen. Ireland's home fixture, originally scheduled for Dublin, was moved to Serbia.
Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza. More than 73,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers those figures reliable. Israel's actions in Gaza have been described as genocide by UN experts and rights organisations, an allegation Israel strongly rejects.
