FAI enlist clinical psychologist for men's team ahead of second controversial Israel fixture

Gerard Perry – a retired HSE clinical psychologist and former referee – has joined the camp since their return from Sunday’s 3-0 win over the Israelis

Psychologist Gerard Perry during the Republic of Ireland training session at the FAI National Training Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

The FAI have enlisted a clinical psychologist for the men’s senior team as the controversy around facing Israel intensifies.

Gerard Perry – a retired HSE clinical psychologist and former referee who took charge of Cork City’s 1998 FAI Cup final victory – has joined the camp since their return from Sunday’s 3-0 win over the Israelis in Hungary.

Protests against their participation in the fixtures will manifest again ahead of tonight’s visit of top seeds Austria to Lansdowne Road before the team are due to complete the four-game window on Sunday with the Israel rematch in Serbia.

Sunday’s first match was hurtled into serious doubt when Gavin Bazunu withdrew on moral grounds, triggering a vote among players on whether to follow his lead. The outcome, after two votes, was 15-8 in favour of proceeding.

Heimir Hallgrímsson admits the turmoil has caused an enormous mental toll on players and staff, especially Finn Azaz.

The Southampton attacker has both Irish and Israel heritage, influencing the manager’s decision to exclude him from last Sunday’s proceedings.

The occasion featured a series of protests by the Irish players, including their bowing of heads during the Israeli national anthem.

Ireland’s manager had last year lamented the absence of a sports psychologist from his backroom team, blaming the FAI’s stricken financial state, but the tumult of recent days into a global story forced action.

“What we have changed for this since coming back from the Israel game is having a psychologist within the squad if anyone needs assistance,” he said about 70-year-old Perry’s involvement.

“I, for one, used him just to talk and have discussions with someone that you know you can trust and reflect on oneself.

“If the players need that one it’s available now. I said a long time ago that there should be a staff member in that area.

“We are learning, trying to improve in a tough situation and are open. That is where you find your leaders and true characters. The best time to learn is in hard times.” Azaz, he confesses, is considering his international future at the age of just 26.

Finn Azaz has both Irish and Israeli roots. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

He is understood to have spoken openly during players meetings over Friday and Saturday, providing context to the instability in the middle-east region but isn’t certain whether he wants to stick around the group following this window.

Hallgrímsson wasn’t prepared to place him in a situation on Sunday whereby he’d be ignoring the anthem of his maternal grandparents.

The same restriction will apply to the second meeting in Backa Topola, which is shaping into a Grudge Match, given the provocative post-match language from the Israeli set-up.

Hallgrímsson previously questioned why Fifa and Uefa suspended Russia and not Israel, causing a further backlash from his opponents when he used the word genocide which they were found guilty of by an independent United Nations commission.

“We need to take into consideration everything when we pick a team,” said the Icelander about his dilemma over Azaz, one of five players left out from the 1-0 defeat to Kosovo on Thursday.

“I’ve been drawn into a political venue and I am not an expert in politics. This is learning for me, learning as a coach, learning as a leader and learning as a human being.

“It’s tough to be a leader at this time. You need to respect all views. We all come from different backgrounds, we all come from different cultures, we even have different religions. As a leader we need to respect everyone. It’s a challenging time for me as a leader.

“I need to look back and say “did I do everything right as a leader of a group?’ “It’s one thing to have an opinion and I am on record as saying my opinion on the situation. I probably, from the beginning, said too much.

"There is one thing to have a personal opinion and then there is another thing to be a leader of a group.” On the possibility of Azaz concentrating solely on his club career, the manager said it was a live topic. “Yeah, I had good conversations with Finn and obviously he is just in a tricky situation.

“It’s difficult for him. He wants to belong to the Ireland national team, he wants to belong.

“He’s shown it in action that he wants to belong, but it’s difficult for him.

“As you can understand from his background.” Despite the manager beginning his press conference by insisting he’d only be talking about the Austria game, not a word about the immediate opposition was uttered across the 20 minute session.

He’s adamant there’s no anticipated repeat vote among players about this Sunday’s match.

“When you have a strong opinion, you also need to listen to others,” he said about the mindset of players, who had Stop The Game protesters converging on their hotel last week.

“It’s easy to be carried away by social media and pressure. Sometimes under pressure from social media, you need to take a stand. Time will be our judge.”