SOCCER:  The stadium issue remained to the fore as the Scotland/Ireland bid made its final efforts to close on the favourites. Emmet Malone reports from Geneva.

Just as  it did a year ago, when the prospect of Ireland bidding with Scotland to host the European Championship of 2008 first raised its head, the issue of precisely which two stadiums might end up serving as venues in Dublin six years from now loomed large over the last day of this tightly-contested race.

After months of speculation, the odd accusation, and more than a little mystery, Croke Park was omitted from the final list of venues submitted by the bid team to UEFA in Nyon yesterday.

Without the owners' permission, it seems, UEFA simply couldn't be expected to officially buy into Ireland's long-standing "it'll be all right on the night" approach to stadium provision. As a result, it was Stadium Ireland and Lansdowne Road that were put forward along with six from seven Scottish grounds.

If anything, though, the comments made by the various parties involved made it more apparent than ever that there is an expectation that the GAA will have a change of heart in the not too distant future. A discreet one by its leadership, indeed, may already have been induced.

Both here and back in Dublin, there were strong hints that in the event that the bid emerges successful from this morning's deliberations, the stadium can simply be slotted back into the tournament plan when a suitable accommodation is reached.

"We have put forward a bid based on seven stadia in Scotland and two in Ireland," said the FAI's Brendan Menton, who refused even to confirm that the two Irish ones were Stadium Ireland and Lansdowne Road. However, he did add that "if Croke Park opens up then that's a bonus".

Towards the end of the press conference that followed the bid team's final presentation to UEFA, we were told Taoiseach Bertie Ahern - pursued over speculation that a Government document issued on Tuesday evening had amounted to much more than, as described by senior bid officials, an "entirely standard confirmation of the existing situation" - had confirmed to journalists that "the Government has guaranteed the criteria as stipulated".

It seemed an odd way for our Taoiseach to put it and what was not mentioned by anybody connected with the bid was that Ahern had then continued "and we have said we would try to fulfil that and that's what we have guaranteed".

There were reportedly some grins, nods and winks to accompany the comments by the Taoiseach, who steadfastly declined to state that the Government's commitment to provide two stadiums in two years' time amounted to a commitment to build Stadium Ireland in the event that the GAA choose not to play ball. It was hard to avoid the conclusion that we are supposed to rest assured the matter will not arise.

It was a bizarre end to a process that has certainly seen the joint bid come closer to success than appeared possible when the first official documents were lodged with UEFA 10 months ago.

Though the Switzerland and Austria bid remains the favourite to win in most quarters, the leading members of the Irish and Scottish bid team all insisted yesterday that they had done enough to make the final decision a very close one.

"We know from the technical assessments that we are right up there with the best of them and, from the informal feedback we received after our presentation today, we know that that was well received, so we remain confident that we can win this," said Scottish Football Association chief executive and bid leader David Taylor.

He went on to restate the bid's various strengths; the size of its venues, the passion of its supporters, and the ability of two economies already geared towards attracting large numbers of tourists each year to easily accommodate the additional number of visitors that would be brought by the tournament.

At this stage, he conceded though, it is simply a question of who comes out on top in what is an extremely political process.

Despite endless speculation here on who might vote which way and why they might do it, he maintained that it is impossible to call. He again voiced the widely-held view, however, that the bid would benefit from the race boiling down to a head to head with the front-runners.

"We're feeling good," remarked Menton subsequently. "We always felt that we had a strong bid and after today's presentation we feel we have an excellent chance.

"There is no doubt within UEFA about our ability to host this tournament. That should be enough to get us on to the short-list. After that it is a question of how many people we have won over. That remains to be seen but we're extremely optimistic."

Ireland's former UEFA executive committee member Des Casey, meanwhile, said again he felt a huge amount depended on how many people had entered yesterday's final stage in the race with their minds still open.

"If you are to believe what was being said," he remarked, "then there were two or three people who were waiting until today before deciding which way they would vote.

"Our presentation was good but it's still impossible to call. It's in the lap of the gods now."

Euro 2008: Today's voting procedures

Four or five of the seven bids will be eliminated before a final vote between the remaining two or three candidates. A simple majority is required for this elimination process.

Other UEFA executive committee members not affected by the remaining bids will rejoin the final run-off vote.

If one country has an absolute majority - half plus one of the eligible members - they are awarded the competition in 2008.

If no such winner is established, the bid with the lowest votes will be eliminated.

If two bids are ranked equal second, an additional ballot for just those two countries will take place to eliminate one.

The bidder with the highest number of votes in the final ballot will be awarded the championships.

UEFA president Lennart Johansson of Sweden will have the casting ballot in case of a tie, unless the Nordic bid is still involved.

If the Nordic bid is still in contention and the votes are tied, the highest ranking official on the executive committee originating from outside of the competing nations will have the final vote.