'The games shouldn't be going ahead' - Jason Knight emphatic on Israel fixtures

Ireland wil face Israel on Sunday after last night's defeat in Kosovo.

Jason Knight of Ireland during the defeat to Kosovo. Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Ireland midfielder Jason Knight insists the Uefa Nations League matches against Israel should not be going ahead.

While his stand-in captain Dara O’Shea yesterday stressed the players shouldn’t be put in this position, Knight went further with his personal opinion.

He doesn’t agree with the matches, scheduled for Sunday in Debrecen and the following Sunday in Backa Topola, taking place.

Knight is the first Irish player to state that categorical position about facing a country found to by an independent United Nations commission to have committed genocide.

“Look it’s difficult,” said the Bristol City captain after their 1-0 defeat in Kosovo, the first of four-games blitz over 11 days in the campaign.

“The manager, Dara and Nathan spoke well about it. I don’t think the game should be going ahead but it is going ahead.” Knight and his colleagues are due to meet in the morning to discuss measures such as donating match-fees and declining the customary pre-match handshakes.

“We’ll have a deeper talk about it and what that means, we’ll get our thoughts as a group and go from there.

“There is a lot of talk and rightly so about the scenario we’re in, but I thought Dara spoke quite well yesterday.

“We’ll try and review this game quickly and we’ll talk about what’s coming up, the Israel games, and we’ll go from there.

“It’s a bigger spotlight and not focused on the football itself.

“It’s very, very unusual and none of us have come into this scenario before so we’re learning on the fly as well.”