Republic

Republic of Ireland defender Dara O’Shea said he is “proud” of how he and his team-mates came through a trying October international window.

During a four-game Nations League schedule, Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side lost away to Kosovo and drew at home to Austria – who they are preparing to face in return fixtures – but it was two games against Israel which tested their resolve.

O’Shea stepped in as captain in the absence of injured skipper Nathan Collins and the 27-year-old acknowledged it “was a tough situation to be in” as they faced Israel in two games on neutral territory.

The first of those resulted in a 3-0 victory for the Irish in Hungary, a game that looked in doubt the previous day when training was delayed as players took a vote on whether to play – amid protests over the Israel-Gaza war – with goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu making himself unavailable for selection.

The sides drew 1-1 in the second meeting in Serbia and, while the saga proved a challenge for all within the Republic of Ireland squad, O’Shea – who missed the second game for personal reasons – paid tribute to his team-mates for the support he received as stand-in skipper.

“I think I was quite lucky, I am really proud to be part of the group, with some great people in it,” said the Ipswich Town captain.

“Even the players playing now as well, they are great leaders themselves. I never felt I was fully alone in having to do anything

“There were always people around me. I always keep level-headed, I don’t get too high with the highs or too low with the lows.”

He added: “Of course it was a difficult time, it was a time that I had to learn stuff about myself, how I was going to react to things. But I think as a group we did excellently.

“It was a tough situation to be in, but we overcame it as best we could. And I am really proud of the group and the staff.”

Journalists prepare to strike as politicians push through changes that critics say threaten independence.

The Czech Republic’s governing coalition has advanced changes to the funding of public media, despite criticism that it could weaken broadcaster independence.

In a rare overnight vote in the early hours of Saturday, the coalition voted to send the bill to committees for further discussion.

The changes include scrapping the 205 crown ($9.45) household broadcasting fee, and replacing it with funding from the state budget.

The populist government of billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis, backed by the far-right SPD party, has frequently criticised public and private media coverage of its policies and accused some outlets of bias.

Babis promised to scrap the broadcasting fee before taking office last December, and says his three-party government is now fulfilling that pledge to voters.

Public media employees staged a strike against the move in June, saying it would make broadcasters vulnerable to government pressure.

Opposition parties have compared the changes with reforms under neighbouring Hungary’s former Prime Minister, Viktor Orban.

Babis has said the new funding model would be fairer to poorer households and encourage outlets to become more efficient.

“There is no war for independent media,” Babis said on Facebook late on Friday. “There is no fight for democracy and no nationalisation of media is being prepared.”

The proposal would cut funding for Czech Television and Czech Radio by about 15 percent and keep nominal funding unchanged for several years.

Public media are among the most trusted news sources in the Czech Republic, with Czech Television the most-watched broadcaster across several age groups.

A civic group has called a public protest for Sunday, while journalists and other employees at the broadcasters announced a strike for November 3.