Parkhead not viable for Irish qualifiers
FAI Chief Executive Fran Rooney indicated last month that Ireland may be forced to play their World Cup qualification home games in Britain unless there are concrete plans for a National Stadium in place.
The FAI’s exemption from the ban on temporary seating for competitive matches expired after September’s 1-1 draw with Russia at Lansdowne Road and Rooney admitted that FIFA is unlikely to grant another exemption unless the Association can put forward plans for a new stadium development.
On Friday, Celtic confirmed that they are prepared to allow the Republic of Ireland to stage their World Cup qualifying matches at Parkhead.
“We have already made it clear to the FAI that we would be delighted to discuss the possibility of hosting future Irish international matches at Celtic Park.”
But that promise may have been premature due to police concerns over exacerbating the tension between the Catholic and Protestant communities in Glasgow by allowing the Republic play in the city.
“Looking at this realistically, the authorities already have a minimum of four Old Firm matches a season, and although the anti-bigotry policies are making a difference, there would have to be a compelling argument made for why the Irish team should play at a Scottish club ground,” said a spokeswoman for Glasgow council.
“There is also the fact that Scotland are likely to be playing their World Cup games on the same weekends at Hampden and I can’t envisage the police remotely considering two international matches being staged in the one city on the same day. Obviously, we will never say never, but this looks like a non-starter.”
However, another possibility has emerged in the shape of Murrayfield, the 68,000 all-seater home of the SRU, who are currently £18m in debt and keen to attract more high-profile sporting events to Edinburgh.
“We are currently negotiating with Hearts about their leaving Tynecastle and moving to Murrayfield next year, and we are committed to increasing our revenue, so I’m not ruling anything out,” said the SRU’s commercial manager, Phil Anderton, whose efforts have heightened the stadium’s profile in recent years.
FAI Chief Executive Fran Rooney is monitoring the situation closely.
“We’re satisfied that following discussions with the Department, the plan for Lansdowne Road is on track. We are eagerly awaiting a memorandum to Government this month and we’re extremely disappointed that it’s all taken so long. Playing our matches away from home is a serious option for us now,” he said.
Meanwhile, Republic of Ireland boss Brian Kerr could pit his side against Jamaica in Dublin on 18 February in the build-up to the World Cup qualifiers.
Kerr is nearing finalising his squad for the games against France, Switzerland, Israel, Cyprus and the Faro Islands.
He gave a number of fringe players a run in the 3-0 victory against Canada last November.
Players like Andy Reid and Liam Miller are already in his thoughts.
If the game against Jamaica comes off, it will afford Kerr a further chance to assess other players.
So far there has been no confirmation of the game from the FAI, but according to Crenston Boxhill head of the Jamaica FA, there has been contact between the two.
“We have been talking to them, but I will not know the final details of that until Monday,” said Boxhill.
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