RAUL DOMINGUEZ the American referee at the centre of the controversy which at one point threatened to urn Ireland's 2-2 draw with Mexico on Wednesday into a mini riot, is to be the subject, of an inquiry by the organisers of the US Cup.

Vinnny Mauro, Director of Officials for the tournament, confirmed that Dominguez is to be interviewed after a performance which so inflamed passions that fighting broke out among rival supporters in the stands.

The 40 year old Cuban born official will be asked to explain his decisions to send off Liam Daish and Niall Quinn in the 157th minute and, more controversially, the removal of Mick McCarthy from the dug out after he had tossed the ball behind him 10 prevent the Mexicans taking a quick free kick five minutes later Mauro said that he wasn't at the game, but confessed to being alarmed by the reports he was receiving.

"I cannot believe what has happened, but until such time as I watch a video of the game, I can not comment on specific incidents," he said.

"Obviously, we are very concerned for this was not something we expected from one of our top referees. We spoke to Raul on Tuesday after some below par performances in recent weeks. We told him to relax and enjoy what he was doing, and reminded him that the game is for players and spectators, not referees.

"I take full responsibility for his appointment. Raul is a Latin and I felt his temperament was perfect for games involving Mexico and Bolivia. As a resident of the United States, he would also be expected to understand the mentality of American and Irish players. Everybody is human, but if the reports are true, this was a black day for referees, the US Federation, the US Cup and soccer generally.

"Raul is now under review, but until such time as we have studied the evidence, I cannot say if he will be suspended." Dominguez, who has officiated in the Olympic Games football tournament, is regarded here as a highly controversial figure and first impressions on Wednesday were of an arrogant man who wished to be cast centre stage at every opportunity.

The fall out from the New Jersey drama, played out in a downpour in the Giants Stadium, was still being assessed yesterday. Among the options is a possible boycott of the competition in future years.

FAI officials insist, however, that there is no threat to tomorrow's meeting with Bolivia in the same stadium, despite the sense of outrage generated by many of the referee's decisions.

In each of the three instances, "dismissal was suffered in pained disbelief, but the end product of the referee's performance is that the FAI may now decide that enough is enough in a tournament which, from an Irish viewpoint, has rarely been devoid of talking points.

Brendan Menlon, the acting general secretary of the FAI, said that a letter of complaint would be sent to the tournament organisers, dealing in the first instance with specific incidents in the Mexican game and then with the overall standard of refereeing in the competition.

McCarthy, straining to repress, his anger, said. "I would have reservations about playing in a tournament such as this again. After all the hard work the players and I have put in over the last three weeks, I feel let down by much of what I saw out on the pitch.

"We should have won the game but were prevented from doing so by circumstances beyond our control. And that is not acceptable at any level of football particularly international team his own dismissal for holding the ball and then throwing it away, he said. "I'm not proud of what I did." For all the warts, however, it was another rewarding day for the young Irish team, quite the best since McCarthy embarked on his radical rebuilding programme two months a go.

Deriving inspiration from the heroics of Packie Bonner behind them, Gary Breen and Ian Harte, complemented Daish perfectly in defence and in midfield the running power of Mark Kennedy Alan Moore and Dave Savage gave the side a verve which has not always been in evidence. More encouraging still, they were among the goals again even if the second of them was a freak affair after Claudio Suarezsi clearance had rebounded off Dulio Davino into his own net.

"I don't wish to tempt fate when I say that the goal famine is over, but things are looking good," said McCarthy. "We were a lot tighter, too, at the back on this occasion and that has to be very encouraging." By the time pragmatism marries adventure in Liechtenstein in August, some of Wednesday's heroes may well have retreated to the bench. But the underlying message is that the long haul back to respectability is now well under way.