FAI pull plug on Rangers match

Shelbourne have agreed to a change of venue for their UEFA Cup clash with Glasgow Rangers originally scheduled for Tolka Park next Wednesday. Following a meeting yesterday morning between both clubs and representatives of the Football Association of Ireland and the Gardai, it was agreed to move the game to a new location amid security fears of clashes with Rangers fans in Dublin.

"The directors of Shelbourne FC have reluctantly taken this decision in the light of adverse publicity surrounding this tie in recent days," said club secretary Ollie Byrne. "It's unfortunate that it has come down to this but the safety of patrons at Tolka Park, the local residents and the general Dublin public was paramount in arriving at this decision."

Ticket sales were suspended and negotiations took place all day to find a new location. English third division club Carlisle United was originally agreed upon by both Shelbourne and Rangers as the alternative venue, but UEFA objected to this choice as their grounds were too close to Glasgow. The local police also refused to take responsibility for the game under their jurisdiction.

Both clubs will meet again with UEFA this morning to discuss other possible locations. UEFA have stated that the venue must be at least 150 miles away and although no preference has been stated by either club, Newcastle, Bolton and Merseyside were mentioned as possible alternatives.

There were a number of concerns voiced about the potential security difficulties if the match went ahead in Dublin. Rangers have a huge number of supporters among the Protestant community in Belfast and the increased levels of street violence and attacks on security forces arising from the Orange Order standoff at Drumcree forced the rethink.

Initially, it was hoped that reducing the ticket allocation to Rangers from 5000 to 500 and switching the kick-off until noon would be adequate to deal with the potential problems. However, at the meeting yesterday morning, the Gardai and the FAI confirmed their security fears for both fans at Tolka Park and local residents.

"We did not recommend that the game does not go ahead in Dublin but we did make certain recommendations about the security risks involved," said a Garda spokesperson. "We also informed the clubs and the FAI about intelligence information gained by our officers on potential difficulties that may arise if the clash went ahead in Dublin." Shelbourne director Richard Campbell was more downbeat about the situation. "I am disgusted that situation has come to this," he said. "In the 32 years that I've been with the club this is the sorriest day of my life. It's a crying shame for the supporters that we cannot hold the game in our own park."

The British Embassy was also represented at the meeting after being notified of the problems from Shelbourne. "We were invited to come and observe the meeting and make any suggestions we felt on the matter," said Douglas Kerr, the Embassy representative at the meeting. "We were concerned that the game be played on a peaceful basis but left the decision entirely in the hands of both clubs."

The FAI also stated that although they had informed the clubs about their security concerns, they did not take on any responsibility that belonged to the clubs in reaching the decision.

It leaves the Shelbourne supporters with the difficult task of attending two away games. "Of course we are disappointed with the news but we are fully behind the club decision to safeguard it's patrons," said Niall Fitzmaurice of the supporters club. "We have already made plans to get supporters to the away match and it may be a problem to get people to attend both games .