Liam Scales’ support for Gazin Bazunu revealed

Liam Scales is named as one of three Ireland players to have supported Gazin Bazunu after he pulled out of the squad to play Israel tonight.

The FAI has shown a complete lack of leadership and character over a chapter that is set to forever impact on Irish sporting history.

Rather than provide leadership the FAI have thrown a group of young men into the international spotlight alongside a manager whose first language isn’t English.

Heimir Hallgrímsson has been the public face of Irish football in the most diplomatic of times.

Naturally he has no deep understanding of the natural empathy that the the Irish people have with those in Gaza suffering from the Israeli Genocide.

Scales does. As does Bizunu who upset the script on Saturday morning by pulling out of the squad for tonight’s match.

It seems that most of the Irish players are concerned about the issues and aware of the feelings of Irish people, not just football fans.

Some will be easier to influence than others but Bizunu has taken a stance. A stance that could impact adversely on his club career at Bolton.

In the background it seems that some are attempting to portray the back-up goalkeeper a lone voice.

There was a claim that the players delivered a significant majority in favour of playing. That is being disputed.

Saturday was a dramatic day in the crisis as a media conference and training was postponed.

Following Thursday’s 1-0 defeat away to Kosovo today’s game has come sharply into focus.

THE 42 REVEALS HOW SCALES, TROY PARROT AND JACK MOYLAN BACKED BAZUNU

Irish website The 42 has published a very detailed timeline of events over the last 48 hours.

David Snyed has clearly got a number of trustworthy sources to put together recent events.

The 42 reports:

Bazunu asked if he could speak directly with Hallgrímsson after coming down in the morning. The pair chatted privately for around 25 minutes and Bazunu informed the Ireland boss he had a change of heart and didn’t wish to play.

He also wrote some of his thoughts down to share and informed them he would like to release a statement explaining his position.

After meeting with Hallgrímsson, Bazunu and his teammates gathered together where he explained his thinking again.

He was asked by O’Shea not to release a statement on his own or at least delay it. Hallgrímsson asked if the statement could be put out after the game, and he would not include him in the matchday squad.

It had been discussed by Hallgrímsson and those around him before players joined up that if a player didn’t want to play against Israel but came into camp they could accommodate that by leaving them out and state they were managing minutes or load in a busy four-game window.

Tensions and tempers were rising.

Players were worried about the attention. The 42 knows of players seeking extra guidance from their representatives and video calling them in the team hotel.

At least one felt the government should have been stronger and led from the front on this, rather than leaving it for the FAI and players to sort out.

Bazunu returned to his room and the rest of the squad began to reconvene their own discussions together and with management.

With the nature of the debate, it has been suggested to The 42 that the FAI feel Finn Azaz, whose mother and grandparents are Israeli, might end his international career after this window.

It was then decided to carry out not one, but two votes. Bazunu was not included in this voting.

He was not aware it was going on, although by this point it had been reported by The Irish Independent that the goalkeeper was the player who did not wish to play.

The 42 subsequently established that five players were beginning to waver on the statement that they had planned to release.

It was also agreed to scrap the statement at this stage. It had been due to be read out on behalf of the players at the 10.15am press conference that never happened.

On the back of how Knight felt he misspoke after the game in Kosovo, the plan was to also inform the media that the players would not carry out any further media commitments during the window.

Back in the meeting room, the players started voting. It was a blind vote, and the question posed to the players was as follows: “Given the circumstances, do you still feel comfortable taking to the pitch against Israel?”

When the votes were collected, the 22 players were told what the outcome was. They were then asked to vote again by writing down their answer and submitting it. There is an element of claim and counterclaim on the point of the margin.

Some say it was 14/8 in favour of going ahead, others 15/7. Either way, is that quite the “significant majority” Courell stated at the later press conference?

Bazunu wasn’t counted in the vote, either.

Players such as Liam Scales, Jack Moylan and Troy Parrott are understood to have provided support and understanding for Bazunu.

Others who had far stronger words with the Bolton Wanderers man would later take the time to visit him in his room on Saturday night and apologise for their behaviour.

This Unique SG leadership: Will, Salthouse, Marlon Fleischmann, Barry Whelan, Gordon Stipic-Wipfler, & Steve Hitchen.
Twitter, do your job. pic.twitter.com/p2ucpHNirt

— Iwan Wirawan (@IwanLab) September 27, 2026

The report adds:

After the second vote, when the margin was either 14/8 or 15/7, Courell, Martin, Hallgrímsson, assistant John O’Shea, and FAI president Paul Cooke were all present. It was decided by the FAI that they would fulfil the wishes of the majority. Courell stated at the press conference that “we understand it’s an FAI board decision, and it’s a decision we have consistently owned.”

Yet The 42 understands that the only member of the FAI board in Debrecen was Cooke. None of the other 12 board members were there to offer guidance or help to the Ireland players.

What then followed was the press conference which was detailed here, and here on The 42 on Saturday.

But that press conference was only a fraction of the drama on a seismic day for Irish football, one which is going to need time and serious care to repair.

The divisions are deep and lasting. The Ireland team is in unprecedented territory after a day like no other.

And today they are supposed to play Israel.

The handling of this has been horrific by the FAI. They have alienated the vast majority of Irish people and created a split right through the first team squad.

All apparently to keep UEFA sweet as one of the co-hosts for the 2028 European Championships.

On Thursday the FAI host Austria in another useless Nations League match.

The fall out from this has barely started.

Scales and others have been dropped into an impossible situation with virtually no guidance.

The spineless executive of the FAI have been caught way out of their depth with a group of players trying to make a career in football sadly caught in the crossfire.