The Football Association of Ireland has insisted it “must accept” the decisions of players who choose not to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
An FAI statement released on Wednesday afternoon, a day after Republic of Ireland striker Callum Robinson revealed he had chosen not to have the jab despite contracting the virus twice, said: “The Football Association of Ireland can confirm that all players and staff are tested for COVID-19 before reporting for international duty with Republic of Ireland teams and are tested repeatedly in camp in line with FAI and UEFA protocols.
“We have encouraged all our players at all levels of the game to be vaccinated, but we respect and must accept the right of all individuals to make a personal choice on COVID-19 vaccination.”
Stephen Kenny’s squad, which flew out of Dublin to Baku on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan, has been repeatedly disrupted by coronavirus in the last year.
The statement continued: “The Association will continue to exercise the highest standards for the safety of all our stakeholders.
“Our COVID-19 testing protocols for all players and staff on international duty strictly follow UEFA protocols and are compliant with all Irish Government guidelines.
“The FAI reconfirms our support for all Government, UEFA and FIFA protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We thank all our stakeholders for their ongoing exemplary compliance with Government guidelines over the last 19 months.”
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