FAI play hard ball and seek postponement

The FAI will today formally seek a postponement of the Republic of Ireland's European Championship qualifying game in Macedonia in the face of UEFA's insistence that it should go ahead as scheduled.

Unless assurances are forthcoming by noon that UEFA can guarantee the safety of the Irish party during their stay in Skopje, the FAI will seek to have the game re-arranged for October 9th.

Given the fact that nobody is in a position to offer any assurances in the current climate of uncertainty in the city, it is difficult to see how that guarantee can be delivered with any conviction.

And it begs the question of what will happen if the European body digs in and continues to act on the advice of the Macedonian football federation that life in Skopje is still normal and that there is no valid reason for a postponement.

Bernard O'Byrne, the FAI's chief executive, said at a press conference yesterday that the safety of players and supporters was paramount, but he shrank from a definitive answer when asked if that concern would stretch to the point where they were prepared to concede the three points by default.

"That would be a very last resort," he said. "We will argue the logic of the situation and the propriety of it before we ever get close to talking about conceding points.

"Instead of waiting for UEFA to make the decision, I think we're taking the right course in being pro-active and saying that unless we receive assurances from UEFA we will formally seek a postponement of the game.

"I don't want to be critical of UEFA, but they can't sit on the fence in this one. In a football sense we are the victims here, we need assurances and we need protection for everybody who is travelling.

O'Byrne said that "one or two" English clubs had been in contact with the association seeking assurances about the insurance cover for players going on the trip.

"We have our insurance in order and as of now everything is in place. Having said that, however, there is a major difference between travelling to a foreign country and going to a war zone. And we have no intention of travelling into a war zone."

Their great fear, he said, was to arrive in Skopje tomorrow afternoon and then find themselves caught up in a war situation on Friday or Saturday. That is the scenario they will continue to paint for UEFA in their attempt to have the game re-scheduled.

The FAI was in contact with the European body on five occasions yesterday after it became clear early in the day that UEFA was being profoundly influenced by statements from Skopje stating that while accommodation in the city is mildly chaotic, everything else is normal.

In support of their case, the Macedonian federation delivered a written guarantee from the Macedonian government that in the event of missile attacks on Belgrade, Macedonia would not be used as a launch pad by NATO. Like so much else, however, that pledge rang a little hollow for the listeners.

UEFA said yesterday that while they envisaged no problems to prevent the game in Skopje going ahead, they had genuine fears about the feasibility of proceeding with arrangements for Yugoslavia's meeting with Croatia in Belgrade on Saturday.

Characteristically, they were not prepared to rule on that game either, but the word emanating from Zurich is that they may well decide to postpone both this fixture and Yugoslavia's meeting with Macedonia at the same venue next Wednesday.

In that situation, O'Byrne said that he would expect UEFA to summon representatives of all five countries in Group Eight to review the situation, a clear inference that Croatia will not be alone in seeking to have Yugoslavia expelled from the championship for the second time in seven years.

Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy confessed that the prospect of a postponement was a distraction for his players but still managed to lighten an otherwise sombre session when asked if there had been any withdrawals from the travelling party.

"My wife and I decided that it would be unwise for the two of us to be in Skopje at the same time in this situation. So I'm staying home."

With so much talk of missiles and sleeping in hotel corridors, the absence of Roy Keane from yesterday's training session almost went unnoticed. But McCarthy was later able to allay fears occasioned by the captain's no-show at the official assembly time on Monday evening.

"I spoke with Alex Ferguson last Friday and he informed me that Roy had a bit of a tight hamstring. But there is no need for alarm - he will be coming in tomorrow morning to join us."