A DECISION by the world footballing governing body Fifa to order a change of venue for the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Georgia has thrown into disarray the travel plans of almost 1,000 fans.
A cloud of uncertainty currently hangs over the location for the away match on September 6th, following Fifa's decision because of the recent events in Georgia.
The new venue is not known for now, as the Georgians have been given until next Wednesday to nominate an alternative to their stadium in Tibilisi. In addition, Georgia has the right to appeal the Fifa decision and sources last night said they were likely to do so.
The fans worst affected are likely to be those who booked independent travel to the match in Tibilisi and the Republic's second qualifier in Montenegro four days later.
A Football Association of Ireland (FAI) spokesman said it has sold almost 1,000 tickets for the game in Tibilisi and most fans were travelling independently.
If the venue change is confirmed, supporters who booked flights independently are likely to lose out. While some may have insurance, most policies are rendered invalid by force majeure situations such as war.
Supporters who booked a charter package for the two matches are likely to be least affected by the change in venue, according to Ray Tracey of Ray Tracey Travel.
This agency is transporting the Irish team and officials, as well as journalists, sponsors and fans by charter flight to the two matches.
"This doesn't affect the flight, though it may create problems booking hotels in a new venue," said Mr Tracey. "We'll go where we have to, but for now all we can do is wait for the FAI to tell us where we have to fly to."
The FAI yesterday confirmed that Fifa has asked the Georgian football association to nominate a neutral venue for the match.
Fifa, in its statement, attributed its decision to "recent events in Georgia, which have affected security in the entire country".
"Fifa reached this decision after closely monitoring the situation in Georgia and taking note that Uefa [ Union of European Football Associations] also decided to ask Georgian clubs involved in Uefa competitions to play their matches in neutral countries."
The news came as the Republic prepared for a friendly game against Norway in Oslo tonight. This is their last warm-up game before the qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa gets under way.
The conflict between Russia and Georgia erupted earlier this month over the region of South Ossetia, when Georgia sent in troops and tanks to try to take back the province, provoking a huge counter-attack from Russia.
