Ireland, England get green light for European qualifiers
FAI officials confirmed last evening the games will go ahead as planned following talks with UEFA and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Rotherham striker Alan Lee has been called into the squad for the upcoming games as Brian Kerr bolsters his striking options following the withdrawal of Clinton Morrison.
Birmingham striker Morrison was forced to withdraw on Sunday with a dislocated shoulder suffered in Saturday's victory over West Bromwich Albion and Kerr has decided to call-up Lee for the first time in his place.
Lee has been in outstanding form for Rotherham this season scoring 14 goals in the English First Division and he is considered one of the best target men in the Football League.
Waterford-born Lee was brought up in the Deansgrange suburb of Dublin and went to Blackrock College before moving to England. At Blackrock he played both football and rugby alongside players such as current Ireland rugby captain Brian O'Driscoll.
After progressing through the ranks at youth level, Lee was a regular in the under-21 squad, but a catalogue of injuries halted his progress and saw him move from Aston Villa to Burnley, and then onto Rotherham where he has put his injury problems behind him.
In other news, Steve Finnan has been seen by team doctor Martin Walsh and will go for an MRI scan on his injured ribs today. Walsh believes Finnan has a chance of being fit for Saturday's clash with Georgia but will know a lot more after the scan.
Liechtenstein's home qualifying match with England on Saturday also goes ahead after lengthy discussions yesterday. Doubts had been raised over the principality's ability to cope with the fixture in the wake of the conflict in Iraq.
UEFA demanded assurances on safety from the Liechtenstein Football Association before giving the green light for the match to go ahead in Vaduz.
But the FA are happy that safety guarantees for the England team, staff and supporters have been provided.
"The game is on, UEFA have got the assurances they required about safety," said FA spokesman Paul Newman.
"We're delighted. Everybody will be pleased it's game on."
Liechtenstein coach Ralf Loose added: "We are glad because our team have been preparing for this match," he said. I told my players before training we have to focus on the match."
The principality has only 70 full-time police officers and has had to draft in extra officers from neighbouring Austria and Switzerland.
However UEFA and the authorities in Serbia and Montenegro are involved in discussions as to whether the country's Group 9 qualifying match against Wales in Belgrade on Wednesday April 2 can go ahead.
The Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro (FSSCG) had raised security concerns about the match in view of the current political situation in the country, where a state of emergency is in force.
Revised Republic of Ireland squad: Given (Newcastle United), Kiely (Charlton Athletic), Colgan (Hibernian), Carr (Tottenham Hotspur), Finnan (Fulham), Harte (Leeds United), Breen (West Ham United),
Cunningham (Wimbledon), O'Brien (Newcastle United), O'Shea (Manchester United), Reid (Millwall), Quinn (Sheffield Wednesday), Kinsella (Aston Villa), Holland (Ipswich Town), Carsley (Everton), Healy (Celtic), Kilbane (Sunderland), Duff (Blackburn Rovers), Keane (Tottenham Hotspur), Connolly (Wimbledon), Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur), Lee (Rotherham).
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