FAI chief in medical scare

FAI PRESIDENT Milo Corcoran had to disembark from the Irish team’s flight home from Tel Aviv yesterday and remain on in Israel due to a medical scare just prior to take-off at Ben Gurion Airport.

Flight ISR111, the official FAI charter plane carrying the Irish senior and U21 squads, most of the Irish media corps and a number of supporters, was taxiing for take-off at 11am local time when Corcoran complained that he was feeling faint.

The long-serving FAI official was immediately attended to by the Irish senior team’s chief medic, Dr Alan Byrne and his counterpart with the U21s, Dr Conal Hooper, and underwent an ECG scan in an ambulance parked beside the plane.

It was then decided that he should stay behind in the Middle East purely as a precautionary measure. The patient had been able to walk off the plane without any assistance.

“Mr Corcoran took a little ill and, because the length of the flight is more than five hours, it was decided not to carry on to Dublin immediately,” said FAI operations officer Tadhg O’Halloran. “The doctors requested that the plane return to the gate where it was decided whether the passenger could go on or would remain in Tel Aviv. The doctors then requested that he stay on and we all hope he will be okay.”

Dr Hooper remained on in Tel Aviv with Corcoran as the flight eventually took off just after noon. FAI chief executive John Delaney also remained. It is expected all three will be able return within the next 24 or 48 hours.

“We were all a bit worried initially. I don’t want to exaggerate this, but when someone might be ill it puts football and matches into perspective,” said Irish manager Brian Kerr.