爱尔兰队的新闻发布会和训练课在其首场对阵以色列的欧国联比赛前一天被推迟，因为抵制比赛的压力与日俱增。
The Ireland team’s news conference and training session the day before its first Nations League game against Israel have been delayed as pressure to boycott the matches grows.
记者们周六在匈牙利德布勒森——以色列的“主场”比赛将于周日在此举行——被告知新闻发布会将推迟到训练结束后举行，只能干等。这距离发布会原定开始时间仅15分钟。
Journalists in Debrecen, Hungary – where Israel’s “home” game is to be played Sunday – were left waiting Saturday after being told the news conference was being pushed back until after training. That was 15 minutes before it was supposed to begin.
然而，训练也大幅推迟，爱尔兰广播电视台（RTE）报道称，在训练原定开始两个多小时后，球员们仍留在酒店内。RTE报道称，一些球员已决定不想参加比赛。
Training was also significantly delayed, however, with Irish broadcaster RTE reporting the players were still in their hotel more than two hours after the training session was supposed to begin.
记者托尼·奥多诺霍告诉RTE广播一台：“如果他们坚持‘必须团结一致’的既定立场，如果有一人或多人想退出，也许他们都会退出。”
RTE reported that some players had decided they did not want to play the games. “And if they stay to their stated ambition that they have to be all in it together, if one or more want to be out, maybe they will all be out,” reporter Tony O’Donoghue told RTE Radio 1.
由于爱尔兰民众对巴勒斯坦人有着强烈的同情，球队面临着越来越大的压力，要求抵制这两场比赛——首场于周日进行，第二场作为爱尔兰的“主场”比赛将于10月4日在塞尔维亚的巴奇卡托波拉举行。
The team has been coming under increasing pressure in Ireland, where affinity with Palestinians is strong, to boycott the two games – the first on Sunday and the second, Ireland’s “home” game, in Backa Topola, Serbia, on October 4.
爱尔兰中场杰森·奈特在周四0-1负于科索沃的比赛后表示，球员们处于困境中，他认为比赛不应继续进行。
Ireland midfielder Jason Knight said after Thursday’s 1-0 loss in Kosovo that the players were in a difficult situation and that he didn’t think the matches should be going ahead.
爱尔兰主教练海米尔·哈尔格里姆松此前曾表示：“我们不是在与种族灭绝同流合污，我们是在对抗种族灭绝。我们是对阵以色列，不是与以色列合作”——这一言论引发了以色列足协的愤怒回应，后者指责这位冰岛籍教练“愚蠢、无知且虚伪”。
Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson previously said “we’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide. We’re playing against Israel, we’re not playing with Israel” – drawing a furious reaction from the Israeli football federation, which accused the Icelandic coach of “stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy”.
爱尔兰足协（FAI）曾抵制抵制比赛的呼吁，理由是球队可能面临欧足联的严厉制裁。爱尔兰将与英格兰、威尔士和苏格兰共同主办2028年欧洲杯。
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) had resisted calls to boycott the matches, arguing the team could be hit by punishing sanctions by UEFA. Ireland is cohosting the 2028 European Championship with England, Wales and Scotland.
超过160名爱尔兰运动员签署公开信，敦促爱尔兰足协重新考虑继续进行比赛的决定。
More than 160 Irish sportspeople signed an open letter urging the FAI to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the fixtures.
上周，抗议者聚集在都柏林球队酒店外，呼吁球员抵制比赛。SIPTU工会在都柏林市中心利菲河畔展示了一幅巨大的海报，呼吁球员"遵循良知！"和"不要与种族灭绝同台竞技"，海报上还配有一张沾满鲜血的球的图片。
There were protesters outside the team hotel in Dublin last week calling on the players to boycott the games. The SIPTU trade union displayed a huge poster in central Dublin beside the River Liffey asking the players to “Go with your conscience!” and “Don’t play with genocide” beside an image of a blood-splattered ball.
前爱尔兰主教练布莱恩·科尔表示，爱尔兰足协（FAI）因坚持举办比赛而"失去了爱尔兰人民的尊重"。"爱尔兰人民和足球观众不希望比赛举行，"科尔说。"我认为他们在过去一年里已经清楚地表达了自己的观点。爱尔兰足协去年11月实际上曾向欧足联提出请求，基于原则要求将以色列踢出锦标赛。然而他们却违背了这一原则。"
Former Ireland coach Brian Kerr said the FAI had “lost the respect of the Irish people” for going ahead with the games. “The Irish people and the soccer-going public don’t want the games to be played,” Kerr said. “I think they’ve made their opinions clear over the last year. The FAI back in November actually went to UEFA and requested that Israel be put out of the tournament on principle. And yet they went against that principle.”