Russia grounds jet set Kerr’s bid for high life

IT was as well Brian Kerr’s plane didn’t get off the ground to see Russia make cheese of the Swiss because at least he could hide from the horror behind his own sofa.

This was to have been a day trip to savour for Kerr as he settled into a private jet yesterday morning for the spin to Moscow to see Ireland's main European Championship rivals clash.

After all, Russia's latest soccer icon, billionaire Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, uses a jet to go to the toilet, so it would have been nice to live the high life for once. But as Kerr was sinking into the plush armchair in the executive jet, air traffic control in Russia delivered the deflating news that the flight was going nowhere for the moment.