Arrangements for the Republic of Ireland's European Championship game against Yugoslavia in Belgrade, a week tomorrow, remain unchanged despite the growing security threat in the region.
Bernard O'Byrne, the FAI's chief executive, said last night that he had been advised by both UEFA and the Department of Foreign Affairs that it was safe for Irish people to travel to the city.
"I have been in contact with the Department on four or five occasions today and they say that it is safe for people to visit the city," he said.
"The advice coming from UEFA is similar but we will, of course, continue to monitor the situation daily and advise the public accordingly."
Pat Quigley, president of the FAI said: "According to informed opinion, the situation in Belgrade is not dangerous at the moment, but if it deteriorates we would of course have to take account of the changed position.
"The welfare of our players and supporters must be uppermost in our minds at all times. We wouldn't want to put anyone at risk, life is worth more than football."
Earlier, the European body had postponed the Group Two game between Albania and Greece, due to be held in Tirana on the same day, because of the "growing political and civil unrest" in the Albanian capital. It has now been tentatively rescheduled for November 18th.
UEFA stress that the decision to postpone the game was not exclusively down to the atrocities carried out against Albanians in the Serbian province of Kosovo and the threat of imminent NATO reprisals.
Tirana has been in a state of unrest for some time following the murder of the leader of the opposition in the city, prompting Greek football authorities to press for a postponement.
Emphasising that the Yugoslavia-Ireland game did not parallel the Tirana fixture, an UEFA spokesman said: "At the moment, there are no plans to postpone the Belgrade game but if the position changes, we have the power to do so, even on the day of the game."
That will be of little comfort to the travelling Irish supporters, most of whom are due to arrive in Belgrade on the eve of the game. Thanks to the recent win over Croatia, the number of fans believed to be making the trip is in excess of 1,000.
UEFA's confidence would not appear to be shared by the American State Department who yesterday issued a warning to American citizens in Serbia that the situation there is becoming unsafe.
Mick McCarthy, who is due to assemble his players in Dublin on Sunday, said he was not in a position to comment on the matter but would act on any instructions issued by the FAI.
Ultimately, however, the decision could be taken out of their hands if English clubs deem that the situation is too volatile and refuse to release players to join the national squad.
The problem of finding a replacement date if a postponement is deemed necessary, would not appear to present a problem. November 18th is an official international date, and as yet, neither Ireland nor Yugoslavia has a game on that day.
