Stephen Kenny confirms some Republic of Ireland players have opted against Covid vaccine

Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny during his Republic of Ireland squad announcement. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Stephen Kenny, whose early days as Republic of Ireland manager were tormented by Covid-19 issues, has confirmed that some members of his latest squad have not been vaccinated against the virus.

The Dubliner has named a 25-man panel for the World Cup qualifiers away to Portugal and at home to Azerbaijan and Serbia with Alan Browne unavailable due to being a close contact of someone at Preston North End and Callum Robinson testing positive, for the second time in under a year.

The topic of vaccinations among professional footballers in the UK has been topical lately with Newcastle United’s Steve Bruce and Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock both confirming that significant numbers of players have opted against the jab.

“A number of players have had vaccines,” Kenny said in Dublin on Thursday afternoon. “Some haven't, some have had one. In England the AstraZeneca has a long period between the first and second doses. Some players have been caught after the first one and some players decided not to get it.”

Kenny’s plans for Ireland’s Euro 2020 qualifying play-off away to Slovakia were left in tatters last year due to Covid issues. So too were his intentions for other Nations League games. News that players are opting against the vaccine will hardly be welcome.

“We'd want everyone vaccinated, but players are men as individuals. They have the right to make their own decisions and you have to respect that. In an ideal world we'd prefer to have everyone vaccinated but we have to respect the individual wishes.”