Hi @I.O I don’t have hear a pair of air pods to run a test, but I asked a colleague to run it for me and all works fine for him.

Also, I tried on Android with Buds 2 Pro and play and pause works fine as well.

So might be something on your device or air pods.

Try reset factory the air pods, including unpair them from your iPhone.

Check if you have the most recent iOS version and Deezer app is update to latest version. 

If you are not sure, delete and install Deezer app again.

Do you have another set of earphones that have same feature pause/play? If yes, do you have the same issue?

If not, maybe if you have another iPhone around, you can pair the Air pods there and run a quick test.

Let us know if that sorted the issue.

Hi and thanks for your response. 
It works now - not sure what exactly it was but I noted it started working when I paused and replayed using my watch. I tried with the buds and it’s working. 

Thank you.