The Republic of Ireland and Israel players did not shake hands with each other before Sunday’s controversial Uefa Nations League game in Hungary.

After walking on to the pitch at Nagyerdei Stadion, the Republic of Ireland squad stood for their national anthem and appeared to bow their heads before Israel’s anthem.

Following the anthems, the two teams did not line up for the traditional handshakes.

There was also no exchange of pennants between Republic of Ireland captain Dara O’Shea and Israel skipper Manor Solomon, who did not shake hands.

The fixtures have been embroiled in controversy since February when the two teams were drawn to play each other in Group B3.

The Republic of Ireland players have faced calls to withdraw from the games because of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war with a “Stop The Game” campaign – organised by the pressure group Irish Sport for Palestine – gathering pace.

However, the players voted to fulfil the fixture during a lengthy meeting at the team’s hotel in Debrecen on Saturday.

Later on Saturday, goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu confirmed he had withdrawn from the squad, saying he felt it “would be wrong to participate” in Sunday’s game and the return fixture in Serbia on 4 October.

The Irish players wore black armbands, which Football Association of Ireland (FAI) chief executive David Courell said on Saturday was a gesture “in recognition of all lives lost in the [Gaza] conflict”.

After scoring the Republic of Ireland’s third goal, Jack Moylan removed his armband and kissed it before kissing his team’s badge.

The Republic of Ireland players were jeered by the small number of Israel fans in attendance when they emerged for their pre-game warm-up.

While the FAI confirmed no tickets would be sold to Republic of Ireland supporters, a handful of fans were spotted inside the stadium.

Speaking to RTE prior to kick-off, Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson spoke about the impact the intense scrutiny on the games have had on him and his squad.

“It’s been one of the most challenging weeks for me as a coach and I guess it is the same for most of the players. It is situations we haven’t been in before,” said Hallgrimsson.

“When we are in these positions we hope we take more right decisions than wrong but you never get everything correct.

“I feel for the players, a lot of young players in this squad that we need to take good care of. Honestly, there are a lot of players who have mixed emotions for this game and it is our job to protect all of them.”

Hallgrimsson added: “As you can expect, the preparation has been probably as bad as it can be so I just hope the players come and do a good performance. We are here to play football, they are footballers and I hope they can enjoy that at least.”